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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 Selig ask Seth to make with the metal sheets he's brought?

2. In what strange way does Loomis start to speak?

3. What does Bertha want Seth to make her?

4. What does Loomis start to do to demonstrate how big he is?

5. What two meals does Seth provide for his boarders?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Seth greet Loomis when he comes down the stairs at the beginning of Act 2, Scene 1?

2. What is the significance of Bynum's asking Loomis if he's ever been to Johnstown?

3. Describe Bynum's meeting with the shiny man.

4. What is Jeremy's initial reaction to Molly Cunningham?

5. What does Bynum say he sees about Loomis?

6. What does Selig tell Bynum on his second visit about Bynum's "shiny man"?

7. What does Reuben say the ghost he saw was like in real life?

8. To what does Seth attribute Selig's ability to find people?

9. What does Bynum say about to Mattie luck?

10. What problem does Seth foresee for Jeremy, and what does Seth suggest as a solution?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the losing of the self in the play.

1) How does Loomis lose himself and his identity in the play? Why can't he reclaim it?

2) What is the significance of a person's Song, as Bynum describes it, and how does losing one's Song equate to losing one's self?

3) How can characters find themselves? Which characters are still lost at the end of the play?

Essay Topic 2

Disuss the losing of others in the play.

1) Why do characters need each other and find themselves bound together in the play?

2) Why do characters, such as Jack and Martha, leave others in the play? What is the significance to the leaver, and what is the significance to the one who is left?

3) Once a person in the play has lost another, is it possible to reclaim that lost person? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of women in the play.

1) Discuss Molly's attitude toward sex, money, and freedom. Where does this attitude come from? Is Molly healthier or happier than the other women in the play?

2) Discuss Mattie's reliance on a man in the play. Why does she need a relationship and children?

3) Discuss Bertha's role in the play. Why is Bertha always shown in the kitchen, cooking? What role does she have in her marriage with Seth? Is their relationship a healthy one?

(see the answer keys)

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