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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 says that s/he is "rotten to the core"?

2. Whom is Estelle attracted to?

3. Which character killed herself by gas poisoning?

4. When Garcin implores the characters to ignore each other, who says that she could never forget about them?

5. How did Estelle's lover die?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Although both Inez and Garcin pressure Estelle into telling them why she is in the room, at the end of the section, why is Estelle only angry with Inez and not Garcin?

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

6. What do you think of Inez's promise to not do Garcin any harm if he leaves her and Estelle in peace?

7. Why does Inez describe Estelle's mouth as cruel?

8. Why do you think that Inez would rather deal with hell face to face?

9. Why does Inez lie about Estelle's pimple?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This play relies heavily on foreshadowing. Objects in the room and things the characters say about themselves help prime the audience to understand the layers of denial and misrepresentation through which these characters journey. Chose one of the following options and write an essay that uses specific examples from the text:

A) Describe how Sartre uses the paper knife as a foreshadowing tool. In what context does it first appear, and what does it represent later in the play?

B) Explain how the way Estelle behaves in the beginning prefigures the truths we find out about her. Be sure to be specific.

C) Explain how the setting and set decorations as a whole foreshadow what will happen at the end of the play.

Essay Topic 2

Estelle is characterized as the most selfish of the three characters. Explain the details Sartre uses to show these aspects of her character, including her physical description, her behavior in the room as well as her actions before.

Chose one:

A) Consider her life before: her marriage, affair and pregnancy. What do these details demonstrate about her as a person?

B) Consider her behavior in the room. How does she act, and how do you think that her treatment of Garcin and Inez contributes to the overall conflict of the play?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the primary themes of this play, including sexual jealousy, violent cruelty and emotional abuse, and the actions described in this play. What elements of this play do you find controversial? What would you say if a friend asked you about reading this play? What was your favorite part and least favorite part? Which parts were most and least believable? Be specific and offer detailed examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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