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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. Which character won a national spelling bee as a kid?

2. Jean asks Delia, "Where does it hurt, D.K.?" What is Delia's reply?

3. In what month does the play begin?

4. What does August say that they were racing against early in Act 1?

5. How old is the character Chad Jasker?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has been discovered in Act 2 Part 1? Who tells about this discovery? What is the reaction?

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

3. 'If you save a man from drowning, you're responsible for him the rest of his life.' Who quotes this proverb in the play? In regards to whom?

4. What is a God-king?

5. In the opening of the play, August speaks into a tape recorder. To whom is he speaking and why?

6. Early in Act 1, Kirsten hears a noise in the night. What does she hear and who comes to comfort her?

7. 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?

8. Where does the character Delia arrive from? Where have her travels taken her? What is her reaction to her new surroundings?

9. Who is suspiciously holding the flashlight in the blackout at the end of Act 1? Why?

10. What topic do the characters Delia and Dan bond over late in Act 1? How do their stories connect?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the discovery of the God-King mean to August? What does it mean to Dan? What does it mean to Chad? How is this discovery important to the plot of The Mound Builders?

Essay Topic 2

Define "aestheticism." How does this term relate to the characters in The Mound Builders? Which characters would you describe as governed by "aesthetic?" Which are not? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Lanford Wilson chose to title this play, "The Mound Builders?" What does that title reflect in the action of the play? How is it symbolic to the theme?

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