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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 does the recruiting officer offer Eilif if he joins the army?

2. Where does Swiss Cheese plan to hide the pay box?

3. People avoid Yvette like a ______ because they think she's sick.

4. Why does Mother Courage claim her price is a good one for a bird at this time?

5. How does Mother Courage make herself known to Eilif?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mother Courage continue to talk with the sergeant and recruiting officer even though they are trying to recruit her sons into the army?

2. Why does "Mother Courage" end with Mother Courage pulling her cart and singing?

3. Has Mother Courage learned anything by the end of the play?

4. How does Mother Courage feel about her daughter, Kattrin?

5. How impoverished has the country become as the cook, Mother Courage, and Kattrin follow the soldier through the winter?

6. Does Mother Courage seem more human in Scene 8?

7. What is Mother Courage's advice to the young soldier about anger and injustice?

8. Are the peasants hypocrites?

9. When Mother Courage refuses to help the peasant family, has Kattrin's defiance of her mother escalated?

10. Is "nothing sacred" to Kattrin in the lieutenant's opinion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout "Mother Courage" characters use song to express themselves and Brecht uses them to flesh out moments. What is the purpose and effect of the musical quality of the play?

Essay Topic 2

Kattrin is mute and must express herself through mime. A play, however, is centered on dialogue.

Part 1) How is having a silent character a powerful statement in a drama?

Part 2) How is Kattrin a tool in Brecht's portrayal of war?

Part 3) What is invaluable about Kattrin's condition?

Part 4) Who is most impacted by her? Who does she better define?

Essay Topic 3

"Mother Courage" is full of dark humor and irony. Discuss Brecht's use of these tools in the play. Where does it appear? What affect does it have on the plot and other characters? Is it used effectively?

(see the answer keys)

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