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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. What is shown on the slide that August states is out of place in Act 1 Part 4?
(a) A photograph of his wife.
(b) A pot from a previous excavation.
(c) A gold mask.
(d) The tomb of the god-king.

2. Who arrives drunk at the door in the middle of the night in Act 1 Part 6?
(a) Cynthia.
(b) August.
(c) Chad.
(d) Dan.

3. How many villagers does Dan say supposedly were in Cahokia?
(a) Forty to fifty thousand.
(b) Ten thousand.
(c) Three hundred.
(d) Sixty thousand.

4. Jean says that in one village six men were laid out ceremonially with what cut off?
(a) Their legs.
(b) Their right hands.
(c) Their heads.
(d) Their genitalia.

5. Where does August say that his sister was "scraped off the street?"
(a) Cleveland.
(b) Eastern Asia.
(c) Chicago.
(d) Africa.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where are the students selected to assist the dig?

2. What does August refer to Cynthia as when her photograph appears on a slide in Act 1?

3. What does August say his father did to Delia?

4. What house is shown in the first slides in Act 1?

5. At the beginning of Act 1 Part 6, there is a slide of a fire. What does August say this is?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Chad react to the news of Jean's pregnancy? Why?

2. What does the rain represent in Act 2?

3. How did Jean's experience as a spelling bee champion lead to her current career path? Was this a direct or indirect route?

4. Describe the relationship between Jean and Chad. Why does he show her the model in Act 1?

5. Describe the set of The Mound Builders. What furniture is used? How are the two locations in the play differentiated through the set design?

6. What is the primary motif used in the play? How does this motif symbolize the main character, and how does it relate to the theme?

7. How does Dan react to Delia's comment in Act 2 that everyone vanishes "without a trace?"

8. Which character's father was a physiologist? Describe the father's office from the perspective of that character.

9. How does August feel about "aesthetics?" Why?

10. Who is the character named Chad? How does he relate to the other characters in the play? What is his position in relation to the house and the excavation site?

(see the answer keys)

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