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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. Who asks Inez to forget her role as a torturer?

2. What dance does Garcin tells Estelle he does not do?

3. Which character sits with his/her hands over his ears?

4. Why is Inez upset by her vision in Part 4?

5. Who says that she often undressed in front of his/her maid?

Short Essay Questions

1. In this section of the play, Estelle asks Garcin to hold her. Why?

2. Why does the image of a young couple making love in her apartment so upset Inez?

3. What does Sartre demonstrate about Garcin when he interrupts his kissing Estelle to listen in to what his colleagues are saying?

4. Why did Garcin say he treated his wife so badly?

5. How is Inez's volunteering to be the mirror for Estelle symbolic?

6. Why did Garcin flee to Mexico, and what does it have to do with cowardice?

7. Why does Estelle shed no actual tears when she cries?

8. Why is Estelle so upset when she sees Olga tell one of her lovers the truth?

9. What do you think of Inez's attempt to woo Estelle by calling her by the romantic names her lovers used to use?

10. If Inez does not seem to care about her appearance, why does she normally carry a mirror?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Inez proclaims herself cruel, saying "I'm your lark-mirror, my dear, and you can't escape me....There isn't any pimple, not a trace of one. So what about it? Suppose the mirror started telling lies? Or suppose I covered my eyes--as he is doing--and refused to look at you."

1. Contextualize this passage in terms of the section of the scene it comes from: What is happening when Inez says it?

2. Analyze what role the mirror symbol plays in this section. Why use this symbol right now?

3. What does it demonstrate about Garcin's relationship to Estelle?

Essay Topic 2

Garcin's discussion with the Valet at the beginning is the way Sartre conveys a lot of crucial information to the audience.

Close read and consider the following passage: "Your eyelids. We move ours up and down. Blinking, we call it. It's like a small black shutter that clicks down and makes a break. Everything goes black; one's eyes are moistened. You can't imagine how restful, refreshing it is. Four thousand little rests per hour."

Write an essay in which you consider the following questions:

1. What is Garcin literally saying? In what context does Garcin speak this passage?

2. Explain and describe the pattern of symbols that this passage belongs to. What does the eye mean, in this passage, and in the play?

Essay Topic 3

Since Garcin was a pacifist whose weakness was a fear of being a coward, he is particularly concerned with what his colleagues at the newspaper thought of him. Describe how Garcin's pacifism affects his behavior in the room. Does he refuse to fight? Does he show cowardice in his interactions with Estelle and Inez? What does he feel during his various visions of life going on without him?

In addition, decide whether or not you think Garcin was really a coward and write a paragraph supporting your opinion.

(see the answer keys)

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