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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Gross state that he would have rather kept his former position?

2. Once Gross refuses to back down, what does Ballas suggest?

3. What is Pillar's response when he is asked by Ballas if he knows Ptydepe?

4. Gross admits that he has always been more of a dreamer than what?

5. How does Gross feel and act at the beginning of Act 2, Scene10?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the characters that display Havel's satire the most is Hana. Describe her actions throughout the play and how they become a part of the humor that accompanies satire. Also, what is her place within the bureaucracy and what do her daily activities say about it in a larger sense?

Essay Topic 2

What does the new language, Chorukor, represent in the overall theme of the play? What is the major difference between it and Ptydepe? Explain in detail how each of the main characters react to Chorukor and why their reaction is significant. Do you believe that it can potentially fail in the same way that Ptydepe did, or will the same mistake keep being made? What will stop the mistake from being made again?

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.

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