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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 the date in Act 2, Scene 1?

2. Why is Hal skeptical about Catherine's claim?

3. What was Robert secretly terrified of, in regards to his career?

4. What does Robert say is finally working again?

5. Why doesn't Catherine want Hal to take the notebook?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Catherine get Hal to leave?

2. Describe why Claire allows Hal to take the notebook.

3. Why is Claire worried about Catherine?

4. Describe Robert's demeanor throughout the scene.

5. When did Catherine write the proof?

6. Why was Hal the first person to whom Catherine showed the proof?

7. Does Claire believe that Catherine wrote the proof? Why or why not?

8. Where has Catherine come from to check on Robert?

9. How does Catherine meet Hal?

10. Why or why not does Catherine want to attend the University of Chicago?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are Catherine's arguments that she wrote the proof? What are Claire's arguments that she did not write the proof? Why is Hal skeptical? What is Catherine's explanation for her advanced understand of mathematics? At the climax of Act 1, Catherine tries to destroy the proof, though it is of extreme mathematical importance and she has poured her heart and soul into it. Why, at that point, is her only option to destroy it? Why does Claire stop her?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of students in bookstores for Robert. When does the audience first hear it from Robert? What is the significance of the second time the audience hears Robert talk about students and bookstores? What are the implications for Robert as a teacher?

Essay Topic 3

While Hal is a mathematician and a doctoral candidate, he mishandles almost his entire relationship Catherine.

1.) Describe Hal and Catherine's relationship in chronological order, starting with their first meeting and moving through the end of Act 2.

2.) Does Hal really care for Catherine, or is he only interested in her proof?

3.) Could Hal's attraction to Catherine also be tangled up with his sorrow over Robert's death?

(see the answer keys)

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