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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 is Boyle's worry?

2. What does Boyle give Gar?

3. What were the ages of Maire and SB when they married?

4. Who is SB O'Donnell?

5. How does Madge defend SB’s silence?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Gar not finish college?

2. In what way are the reactions of private and public Gar different as they remember Katie?

3. When does the action in the play take place?

4. What does Madge mean when she says, “A body couldn’t get a word in edge-ways with you two" (30)?

5. How does Gar respond to Katie's realization the night they were planning their wedding?

6. What is Boyle’s gift to Gar as he prepares to leave? What does he ask for?

7. How do Boyle’s words guide Gar on how to deal with the past and with his identity?

8. Who is Master Boyle? How is he different from SB?

9. What is the effect of the imagery, “big bugger of a jet, with its snout pointing straight for the States and its tail belching smoke over Ireland" (3) ?

10. When does private Gar taunt public Gar with memories of Katie and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on tragicomic features in the play. What is the effect of narrating failures, missed opportunities and missed relationships in a way that is farcical rather than tragic?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on symbols in the play and their function in bringing out character, setting and theme.

Essay Topic 3

Describe Gar’s friends and their reaction to Gar’s impending departure. Are his friends part of the situation Gar wishes to escape?

(see the answer keys)

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