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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 public Gar mean when he says “he got ten minutes’ overtime out of my hide” (2)?

2. What was Gar’s and Katie’s plan?

3. What is Madge doing when the play opens?

4. Who is SB O'Donnell?

5. What is Gar’s full name?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Katie marry Francis? How does private Gar console public Gar?

2. Why does private Gar question public Gar whether the latter understands the implications of his decision to leave?

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

4. What does public Gar mean when he says “on my last day with him he got ten minutes’ overtime out of my hide” (2)?

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

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

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

8. Why is public Gar ecstatic in the beginning of the play?

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. Why is public Gar shaken after Boyle leaves?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Master Boyle dated Gar’s mother before SB and is still not over her. This suggests a key argument that hanging on the past can be destructive and that Gar may be trying to evade his own past by leaving Ireland. Examine the way the play explores this statement.

Essay Topic 2

What are the different emotions that are brought out when the past is evoked? Describe in detail the difference in the way the past is viewed by public and private Gar.

Essay Topic 3

The passage of time and the need to cope with change affects every character in the play. Explore how different characters respond to time and change and the consequences of those responses.

(see the answer keys)

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