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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. What does Algernon find decidedly unromantic?

2. In what county is Jack's country house?

3. What item did Jack leave in Algernon's house the last time he called?

4. At what age does Gwendolyn say she lost the respect of her mother?

5. What is Algernon enjoying at the end of the Act?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Bunbury?

2. What is Algernon's stated opinion of love and marriage in Act I?

3. What is Lady Bracknell's response to the story of Jack's adoption?

4. What orders does Algernon give Lane at the end of the First Act?

5. How does Jack Worthing's cigarette case betray his identity to Algernon?

6. Why does Algernon discreetly write down Jack's country address on his cuff?

7. Why doe Jack go by the name of Ernest in London?

8. Why are there no cucumber sandwiches at the Algernon's when Lady Bracknell arrives?

9. Describe Algernon Moncrieff.

10. What, according to Jack and Algernon, is the difference between mothers and fathers in modern society?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters of The Importance of Being Earnest live in a society largely unchanged in a dynamic century. As such, they often make disparaging remarks about revolutions going on around them. Write an essay about their attitude toward change, using the text as a guide and dedicating a paragraph to each of the following:

1.) Socialism

2.) The French Revolution

3.) Women's Rights

Essay Topic 2

Like many English comedic plays, the Importance of Being Ernest ends with three marriages:

Part 1.) How are Jack's and Algernon's betrothal inextricable linked, both as impediments to each other and later as facilitators?

Part 2.) What obstacles do Miss Prism and Chasuble face in their courtship? What would have happened had they not wed?

Part 3.) Which of the three engagements suffered most before becoming secure? Which marriage do you think will be strongest? Cite examples from the text to justify your position.

Essay Topic 3

Miss Prism is one of the more complex characters in The Importance of Being Earnest. Write an essay covering the following topics surrounding her character:

Part 1) When we first meet Miss Prism in Act II, what do we think is her passion in life? Does she have one? What are her attitudes - stated or implied - or art and marriage?

Part 2) At what point do we realize that Miss Prism has feelings for Chasuble? What hope does she have of taking him as a husband?

Part 3) How do the revelations about Miss Prism's past affect our understanding of her character? Is she, in the end, a more or less sympathetic character?

(see the answer keys)

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