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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which phrase best describes the clerk's actions?
(a) Sucking up.
(b) Ignorant.
(c) Selfish.
(d) Admirable.

2. What does Gross tell himself to rationalize his decision in Act 1, Scene 4?
(a) That he could better serve the company in his new position.
(b) That he had no choice.
(c) That Ballas was right.
(d) That he was too weak to resist it.

3. According to Lear, how is the best way to learn Ptydepe?
(a) With unshakeable faith.
(b) Slowly.
(c) With an abandonment of English.
(d) By speaking it every day.

4. What is very interesting about the intentional way Havel presents the office?
(a) The characters come and go without asking permission.
(b) The positions of the characters are never stated.
(c) The purpose of the office is never stated.
(d) It only has one room.

5. What is Savant's primary responsibility as the Ptydepeist?
(a) Modifying Ptydepe for each department.
(b) Making sure Ptydepe is used correctly.
(c) Reporting anyone who is not using Ptydepe.
(d) Translating all existing memos into Ptydepe.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gets quizzed along with Gross on their knowledge of Ptydepe?

2. What does Gross' lack of Ptydepe knowledge signal, according to Lear?

3. Where does Gross wish he could return to at the end of Acct 1, Scene 4?

4. What does the item that Gross is carrying in Act 1, Scene 5 symbolize?

5. What is Gross trying to get accomplished in Act 1, Scene 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lear explain Ptydepe in describing the process for learning it?

2. As illustrated in Scene 8, what is necessary for a bureaucracy to have power over its workers, and what is this an analogy for?

3. How does Gross justify his situation to himself towards the end of Act 1, Scene 4?

4. What events lead Gross to speak out against the technological advances that are affecting humanity?

5. What is different about Thumb's responses in Act 2, Scene 8 as compared to earlier in the play?

6. Who is Thumb and what does the character represent?

7. What are some of the differences between Ballas and Gross in their experiences as Managing Director?

8. How is Lear's explanation of Ptydepe used to display the arrogance and self-indulgent actions of bureaucrats?

9. What is a Ptydepeist, and what is their purpose?

10. What does Maria's locating a new job for Gross say about her as a character, and what does Gross' reason for staying with the company say about him as a character?

(see the answer keys)

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