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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the first character that the audience sees?

2. Why is Bunny angry with Artie at the end of Act I, Part II?

3. What is Artie eager for that he expresses to the audience in the beginning of The House of Blue Leaves?

4. What does Bananas pretend to be when Artie fixes her breakfast?

5. What do Artie and Bunny argue over when she brings up their friend Billy in California?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Corrinna say to the audience when she arrives in Act II, Scene I, Part II?

2. How does the blue spotlight characterize Artie in the Prologue?

3. After Artie tells Bananas about a house he found on the East Coast that she can live in, what is Bananas scared of?

4. What is Ronnie's bomb a symbol for?

5. How does Bunny get Billy to ask her to come to Australia with him?

6. Why does Corrinna ask the nuns to pray for her?

7. What does "breaking the fourth wall" and speaking to the audience achieve?

8. What does the audience learn about the Prologue in Act I, Scene I?

9. What is another significant symbol introduced in Act I, Scene I?

10. Describe what Artie is doing in the play's Prologue.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dreams appear numerous times in The House of Blue Leaves, either from Artie or Bananas. Discuss some of these two characters' dreams and why they are in the play. What is their significance? What do they reveal about the characters to the audience? Are they necessary to the play's narrative? Cite specific information and quotes from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The longing to be noticed is a thematic element common to characters in American dramatic literature. Compare this among the characters in The House of Blue Leaves to another novel or play you have read that has this same recurring theme. Use specific information and quotes from The House of Blue Leaves, while the other novel/play can be loosely paraphrased.

Essay Topic 3

Ronnie's character in The House of Blue Leaves is neither prominent nor fully understood. Aside from Act II, Scene I, Part I, his voice is not heard; therefore his thoughts are not known. However, much can be deduced from the few times we see Ronnie. In a thesis driven paper, discuss Ronnie's character and his significance to the play. Use specific examples and quotes from the text to support your response.

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