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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 Zeke's relationship to Zach in Play Four, Ties that Bind?

2. Which of the following statements does not describe an aspect of Jed Rowen's dream at the beginning of Play Five?

3. In Play Five, which Talberts does Ezekiel tell Jed they kill?

4. In what year is Play One, Masters of the Trade, set?

5. Who does Michael Rowen bring back from Louisville with him in Play Three, The Homecoming?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do things improve for the coal miners between the formation of the union in 1920 and Joshua Rowen's speech in Union Hall in 1954 at the beginning of Play Eight?

2. What do Taskwan's statement that the land Michael Rowen wants is cursed and Dragging Canoe's statement that the land is dark and bloody in Play One, Masters of the Trade foreshadow?

3. Who is the old man Jeremiah summons from the woods at the end of Play Four, Ties That Bind, and what does he want?

4. Discuss Richard Talbert's attempt in Play Five, God's Great Supper, to persuade Jed Rowen to resolve their family differences.

5. Why does Lana want to break off her affair with Joshua?

6. Why are Mary Anne and Tommy willing to take Abe Steinman in as a boarder, even though he is a stranger and involved with the union?

7. Mary Anne Rowen tells Joshua at the end of Play Seven that the union is now his family. In what ways is the coal miners' union like a family to the miners?

8. How do the stories J.T. tells at supper in Scene Two of Play Six, Tall Tales, indicate he does not always tell the truth.

9. What does Michael Rowen mean when he tells Morning Star he learns early that blood is the "coin of the realm"?

10. Explain how Jeremiah's name foreshadows the fate of the Rowen family in Play Four, Ties That Bind.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick three of the following marriages and compare and contrast the relationships: Lallie and Jed Rowen, Michael Rowen and Morning Star, Joshua and Margaret Rowen, and Mary Anne Rowen and Tommy Jackson. Do any of these relationships seem happy? What historical events or conflicts do some of these marriages reflect? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Several murders occur in The Kentucky Cycle. Discuss Michael Rowen's murder of Sam, Patrick Rowen's murders of Michael Rowen and Joe Talbert, and Jed Rowen's murder of Richard Talbert. What motivates each of these killings and what theme(s) or lesson(s) do you think the author is trying to convey through these incidents? Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

What character flaws and strengths do you see in the Rowen family through the generations depicted in The Kentucky Cycle? Select at least three characters from the nine plays and discuss how these flaws and strengths help or hinder the characters in dealing with the conflicts in their relationships and in their historical eras. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

(see the answer keys)

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