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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 Gwendolen beg Cecily to call her after they realize they are deceived?

2. What does Miss Prism recommend to Chasuble?

3. Where do Cecily and Gwendolen depart to when they leave the men?

4. Where does Cecily tell Algernon he is being sent?

5. When the Cecily and Gwendolen both discover that each is engaged to Ernest, what do they compare?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Cecily and Miss Prisms opposing views on writing.

2. When Algernon arrives under the guise Ernest, what does Cecily tell him about Jack's plans?

3. What reason does Cecily give for not wanting to show Algernon her diary?

4. How does Algernon end up paying for Jack's debt in Act II?

5. Why does Gwendolen state that she wishes Cecily were older?

6. What does Cecily do to anger Gwendolen as they take tea?

7. What argument does Jack make to Algernon about eating in times of despair, and why at the end of Act II?

8. Why is Cecily always distracted from her lessons?

9. What favor does Jack request of Chasuble?

10. What reason does Miss Prism give for not wanting Ernest to be saved from his vices?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay with the thesis that Jack Worthing's decision to hire Miss Prism before the play begins is the reason why the play ends happily. Use the three marriage's as a framing device for your argument.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Do you believe that Lady Bracknell's constant fretting about Gwendolen's inauspicious betrothal, the state of over-education, and comment on train platforms (to name a few examples) indicates an implicit fear of devaluation of high society in England? Write an essay with your position, using statements about the role of the upper class to support your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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