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Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. When the caretaker says, on page 281, "You've seen them," what is it implied she is referring to?
2. After looking through the box of his parents' things, what conclusion does Toby come to?
3. What does Toby offer Leo in the note that he leaves for Leo?
4. While Toby and Leo are on vacation, what does Leo discover that makes him consider leaving Toby and returning to New York?
5. What causes Adam to miss his performance?
Short Essay Questions
1. What admission about Leo does Henry make, and why does Eric find it so upsetting?
2. How does Leo learn that he is HIV-positive?
3. Who was Edward Carpenter, and how did he inspire Maurice?
4. In what sense does Toby re-enact his relationship with Eric through his relationship with Leo?
5. How did Henry's fear during the AIDS epidemic end up robbing him of his ability to truly love another man?
6. What happens as soon as Toby gets back to his apartment after he visits his agent?
7. How does Toby's experience at the opening of his play relate to the scene he makes at Eric's wedding?
8. What leads Toby to write his second play?
9. What does the farmhouse caretaker say is the reason that so many gay men died during the AIDS epidemic?
10. What is the subtext of Adam and Toby's argument about the new line Toby has added to the play?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
How much of present-day Henry's character is really attributable to Walter's choice to bring Peter to the farmhouse, and how much is simply an innate part of who Henry has always been? Consider Henry's backstory before he met Walter--his early life, his marriage, his career, and so on. What does this part of his life demonstrate about his character? Why would he suddenly make such a dramatic change in his life based on meeting Walter? What does he seem to have loved about Walter at this stage in his life? What does Henry say changed about him during the AIDS epidemic, and when Walter chose to keep Peter at the farmhouse? Do you think that most people would have changed in the way Henry changed? What commentary of Henry's about Leo, charity, politics, and responsibility in general sheds light on his personality and beliefs? Do these seem to have changed since that pivotal moment at the farmhouse, or are these aspects of Henry consistent throughout his life? Write an essay in which you analyze the characterization of Henry, taking and defending a clear position about how important Walter's decision to keep Peter at the farmhouse really was--or was not--in forming the man that Henry Wilcox became. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.
Essay Topic 2
What claims is The Inheritance making about cultural appropriation from the gay community? How does this relate to the part of the play's plot in which Henry and his children try to keep Eric from inheriting what Walter wanted to bequeath him? Why do Eric's and Walter's individual personalities, ages, and beliefs matter in understanding this relationship? How does the class status of Henry and his children mimic the power dynamic between the larger community and the gay community? Write an essay in which you show how the plot regarding the farmhouse illuminates the text's concerns regarding cultural appropriation. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.
Essay Topic 3
The Inheritance is very much a play about a narrow segment of New York's gay community at a particular historical moment. How does this specificity in its setting impact the universality of the play's message? What part of New York's gay community is centered in this play, and which members of the community are marginalized? How does the play attempt to remediate this marginalization, and is it successful in these attempts? Do the concerns of the characters in this play, and the play's ultimate message, translate to other gay communities across the nation and the world? Does the play have a message that is more universally applicable to persecuted communities, or does its theme apply only to members of the gay community? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about the universality of the theme of The Inheritance. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the play.
This section contains 1,444 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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