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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. Where did Estelle go with Roger?

2. How many mirrors does Estelle have in her bedroom?

3. Why did Garcin want to face death courageously?

4. Who admits to being "rather cruel"?

5. Why does Inez offer Estelle a place on her couch?

Short Essay Questions

1. Sartre uses a mirror as a symbol in Part 3. Describe how the mirror is important to understanding the character of Estelle.

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

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

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

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

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

7. Why do you think that Inez tries to pull Garcin off Estelle?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In some ways, this play is characterized by a "battle of the sexes" that is also complicated by a love triangle. Closely read Estelle's assertion that "Well, in that case our tastes differ. That's all it proves. [Turning to INEZ] What about you? Do you like men in their shirt-sleeves?"

Answer the following questions:

1. How does this statement characterize Estelle? What does it communicate about her?

2. What does it reveal about Inez?

3. How does it contribute to the rising dramatic tension in the play? How does it affect the intensifying interactions between the three main characters?

Essay Topic 2

Because these characters are dead, issues of death and dying strongly affect the way they behave. Describe how each character died, using as many specifics as you can remember from the play. After you describe how each character died, chose one of the following below and write one paragraph:

A) In your opinion, which death was the "worst" or most unfortunate, and why?

B) Describe which death you feel was most appropriate, that is: which character deserved to die the way they did, and why?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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