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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. What does Pavlo say he did when he read the letter?

2. What are the soldiers in the barracks gambling with?

3. What does Pavlo tell Pierce his name really is?

4. Who is the first person to enter the barracks that is not a trainee in Act 1, Part 4?

5. What does Pierce first drunkenly say to Pavlo?

Short Essay Questions

1. Identify two juxtaposed aspects to Pavlo's character, and explain how they affect his identity.

2. What can the audience understand about Pavlo's mentality in Act 2, Part 4 when Pavlo shouts back to Ardell after being wounded that they can "hurt him as many times as they want?"

3. How is this scene, as well as Ardell's character, a seminaly metaphoric catalyst, displaying Pavlo's transformations and inner desires?

4. Pavlo believes that good soldiers are never helpless in any situation. How does this belief play out and dramatize itself in his experience with the Corporal and following scenes?

5. Choose and explore one character trait of Pavlo that is revealed in the beginning of this play.

6. The image of the closed coffin is the final component of the play's collage, the last piece of the puzzle that once was Pavlo's life. Describe it's effects, and comment on the general purpose of the play overall.

7. What is Pavlo's attitude despite the terribleness of the situations consistently surrounding him in Act 2, Part 3?

8. Explain the nature of and reasoning behind Pavlo's lies.

9. How is Brisbey's talk on the depth of the ocean a metaphorical slight towards Pavlo?

10. How does the scene in which Pavlo grabs the grenade display yet another ironic moment in his seemingly life-long struggle for identity? What character trait seems to remain intact to the very end of his life, possibly leading to his ultimate demise?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rabe's anti-war message comes through loud and clear in several ways in the final scenes of the play. Find at least 5 moments during which Rabe sends his message and explain how each moment is employed to be clear and strong. Conclude by explaining what you believe might be the play's thematic warning about war in general and what it ultimately offers to humanity.

Essay Topic 2

As we get to know Pavlo's character more intimately it is understood that Pavlo becomes more and more fixated on becoming a good soldier. He eventually defines this as not only a good killer but the right kind of killer and one who becomes both experienced and joyful about it.

What is the irony of Pavlo's understanding of how to go about reconciling and rectifying his fixation with his reality? Give at least four examples along with explanations of how this irony could create a dark fate for our protagonist.

Essay Topic 3

The argument could be made that Pavlo's willful and continuous acts of denial spring from a classic tragic flaw. In the same way as classical characters of potential greatness like Oedipus, Hamlet, or Macbeth are brought to destruction by flaws of character (pride, indecision, or ambition), Pavlo is conceivably a character of potential greatness deeply flawed by self-delusion. The counter to this argument is that we never actually see Pavlo's greatness, not even a glimpse of it. In fact, from the beginning, he is portrayed as both loser and lost, defining his identity through the actions and example of other people. Does this make him any less tragic, or does his death portray him as the definitive victim? Choose a side to argue and consistently refer to examples from the book to back up your argument.

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