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

2. What is Michael Rowen's country of origin?

3. What does Morning Star dangle over her baby son at the end of Scene Six of The Courtship of Morning Star?

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

5. Why does Richard tell Jed they should bury their differences?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does J.T. talk Jed Rowen into selling in Scene Two of Play Six and does Jed fully understand what he is selling?

2. Discuss how J.T. fascinates Mary Anne Rowen in Play Six, Tall Tales.

3. What is the significance of the pock marks on Morning Star's skin in Play Two, The Courtship of Morning Star?

4. How is Ezekiel Rowen's nickname of Preacher ironic?

5. Why doesn't Tommy Jackson trust J.T. in Scene One of Play Six, Tall Tales?

6. How does Jed's dream change at the end of Play Five, God's Great Supper, from what it is at the beginning of the play?

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

8. What does the infected blanket Michael Rowen gives the Indians in Play One, Masters of the Trade, symbolize?

9. Explain how Scene Three of Play Eight reflects the civil rights movement occurring in America during the mid-1950s when the play is set.

10. In Play Four, Ties That Bind, why does Patrick Rowen seem to favor his younger son, Zach, over his older son, Zeke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Morning Star, Sallie Biggs, and Mary Anne Rowen in The Kentucky Cycle. Cite examples from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the treatment of women in The Kentucky Cycle. Do the men in the plays treat the women as equals or do they try to dominate them? Does the treatment of women change over the course of the cycles? Cite at least three examples from the text to support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

The Rowen family's gold pocket watch is a recurring motif throughout The Kentucky Cycle. Cite three examples from the text of the use of this motif and discuss what you think it represents in each example.

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