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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. Whom is Estelle attracted to?

2. What does Garcin says both Inez and Estelle do to him?

3. Who admits to being "rather cruel"?

4. Why is Estelle upset by what Olga is saying to Peter?

5. Inez says that she won't do any harm if she is left alone with whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do you think that Garcin really would prefer physical torture? Which would you prefer--physical or mental anguish of this kind?

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

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

4. What do you think is the worst thing Garcin did to his wife?

5. What does Garcin mean when he says that he can see where talking to each other will lead?

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

7. What is Inez guilty of?

8. Why do you think that Estelle is flattered by Inez attention, even after she knows that Inez is being cruel?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Feminist critique of this play might argue that while all three characters are unlikable, the portrayal of women is skewed toward the negative. Inez is cruel and Estelle vain, and Garcin makes altogether a more sympathetic impact on the audience.

(chose one, A or B)

A) Compare and contrast the ways Sartre characterizes Inez and Estelle. Focus on textual specifics: What they look like, how they behave, and what the audience thinks of them. How are their portrayals similar to and different from each other?

B) Decide if you think that Garcin is a sympathetic character and one audiences will like. Defend your argument either that he is likable or is not likable with examples.

Then:

C) Discuss how the off screen characters--Roger, Florence, Inez's cousin, Garcin's wife--affect your interpretation of and response to either A) or B) above.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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