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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 is Sholem's response when Nakhmen says he is representing the Jewish people as prostitutes and pimps?

2. For whom does Sholem want to write?

3. How does Indecent begin?

4. In the end, why did Vogel not use the obscenity trial itself?

5. Indecent had its New York premiere where?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Madje’s line, “Teach me. Take me. I want to taste you” significant?

2. What do most of the men believe is the role of Jewish theater?

3. Where and when did Indecent premiere?

4. Who does Vogel thank for bringing her life’s work to life?

5. When had Paula Vogel first heard about Rebecca Taichman?

6. How does the playwright early on show why the play is titled Indecent?

7. What was Paula Vogel‘s reaction when she first read The God of Vengeance while at Cornell University?

8. How does this section end?

9. Why might it be important that Nakhmen state that his nephew, Lemml, has never seen a play?

10. When and why was The God of Vengeance put on trial?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After The God of Vengeance was put on trial, it was decided that it was an obscene play. Why? What are the problems with the play, according to the ruling? How does this ruling reveal prejudice towards some and a view of others as if through rose-colored glasses?

Essay Topic 2

Multiple times throughout the play characters look down upon traditional religious Jews. What might be the reason for this? How do the characters who are Jewish respond to this type of attitude? Would you consider the secular Jews in this play to be anti-Semitic as was feared by Mr. Peretz? Why or why not? Do the Jewish characters in this play seem to be happy to rid themselves of their tradition? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Officer Bailie is instructed to allow The God of Vengeance performance to be completed before he arrests the cast. Why might this be? Why does he not arrest them earlier? Why is there a police presence and an arrest on Broadway but not in any previous American performances?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,004 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample