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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. Why is Savant "unable" to offer Gross any coffee?

2. What is significant about the examples Lear uses for the word, "boo?"

3. As a result of Gross' incorrect answers, what does Lear deny him?

4. What style of writing best describes The Memorandum?

5. What does Ballas threaten Gross with?

Short Essay Questions

1. After all of the speculation throughout the play, what are the contents of Gross' memo revealed to be, and what effect does this have on him?

2. What are some examples of the familiarity of Ballas' morning as Managing Director and what is it similar to?

3. What are the noticeable habits of Hana, the secretary, that are displayed in the beginning of the play?

4. What is important about Maria's gesture to Gross at the end of Act 1, Scene 6, and what is the irony in it?

5. What is it about Gross' life that leads him to believe he might not be able to "fight for his innocence?" What reasoning does he give Maria?

6. How does Lear explain the complexities of Ptydepe to the class?

7. What subtle things does Ballas do to maintain his power?

8. What is ironic about the way the conversation between Gross and Ballas starts and the way it concludes, specifically concerning Gross' job?

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

10. The "wrong cause" that Stroll, Savant, and Helena are upset about dedicating their lives to is really a symbol for what larger "wrong cause?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the writing techniques used by Havel is the repeated cycles he creates for the story. This is a way for an event or situation to be "recycled" in order to make a point. Describe in detail an example of how events were repeated for which characters. Were the events exactly the same as when they appeared originally in the play? If not, what was different about them? Why did Havel choose to make these changes? For each repeated event, also include the point Havel makes with it.

Essay Topic 2

In Scene 3 of Act 1, there is a very significant scene involving Maria, Gross, and the Staff Watcher. Describe the scene in detail, highlighting its importance and the messages it delivers. What does it specifically say about each of three characters involved? In a metaphorical sense, what do the cigars represent and why is that a key element to the story?

Essay Topic 3

The character of George, the Staff Watcher, is Havel's way of warning against what form of government control. Why is that role significant to the end result of what the bureaucracy in the play is after? Later on, as Gross becomes the Staff Watcher for a brief time, how does the role change? How does he fill the position differently than George? Finally, when the positions are switched yet again, what is the symbolic significance of the way George acts and Gross' place at the time? This essay should chronicle the Staff Watcher position from the beginning to the end of the play, describing its part in the story.

(see the answer keys)

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