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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 in the letter they are expecting?

2. Walter Lee and Ruth speak privately about what serious issue?

3. What does Ruth announce to Mama and Beneatha?

4. Where will George take Beneatha on their date?Where will George take Beneatha on their date?

5. How much money does Walter Lee need for his plans?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Ruth referring to when she talks to George about "them bombs and things they keep setting off?"

2. Why do you think Ruth fainted at the end of the scene?

3. How does the author let the reader know that Beneatha is inauthentic in the way she wears her Nigerian costume?

4. What is the importance of Mama's spindly plant to her character?

5. Walter Lee mentions that Mama is expecting something to arrive in the mail. What is she expecting?

6. What does Walter Lee do when he sees Beneatha in her Nigerian costume?

7. What does Walter Lee taunt George about as they wait for Beneatha?

8. Why did Mama decide to buy a new house for the family?

9. How do Walter Lee and Ruth react when Mama tells them she bought a house in Clybourne Park?

10. How does Mama react to Beneatha asking whether Ruth "planned" her baby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the symbolism of the props in this play, including Mama's plant, the poison being spread to kill the cockroaches, and the Nigerian clothing that Joseph Asagai brings.

Essay Topic 2

Identify and describe the following dramatic structures in the play: Exposition, Rising Action, Turning Points, Climax, and Falling Action. Use dialogue and text examples to support your descriptions.

Essay Topic 3

Lorraine Hansberry was a notable African-American. She was also a woman. People tend to consider both perspectives as somehow more specialized than white, male perspectives. Do you agree? Write an essay addressing the question of whether this play is primarily an "African-American" play or a "Woman's" play.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 609 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample