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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mattie say, when Loomis asks her to come be with him?

2. What does Seth apologize to Molly for?

3. What does Seth chide Bynum for?

4. What suggestion does Molly give Jeremy about his job?

5. What does Bertha give Mr. Loomis for breakfast?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Loomis's vision is an important element in the play. Discuss the meaning and significance of this vision.

1) What do the bones walking on water signify? Why do they sink? Why are they washed to shore?

2) Why is Loomis one of the sets of bones that washes to shore? Why can't he rise up and walk away like the other people?

3) What does the road signify in the vision? Why do the washed-up people walk down the road in different directions?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the play, there are forces that bind people and forces that tear people apart. Discuss these forces.

1) What types of things bind people to each other and to places and lives in the play? Are these things good or bad, or are some good and some bad? How do negative binding forces (like the chains of slavery) affect the other things that bind people together or to elements of their lives?

2) What types of things tear people apart in the play? Are these things good or bad, or are some good and some bad? What role might tearing apart have in building identity?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 413 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample