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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. Who does Serafina not want the women to behave improper in front of?

2. When does the doctor say Assunta should inject Serafina with the morphine?

3. Why do the women decide against calling the police?

4. What does Serafina say she has lost?

5. What are the mothers demanding Serafina give them?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Serafina say is the truth about Alvaro?

2. How did Serafina know she had conceived?

3. Why does Rosa say her mother locked up her clothes?

4. Why is Serafina frustrated at the beginning of this scene?

5. Why does Father de Leo say he could not come earlier?

6. How did Serafina react to Rosa talking to Peppina?

7. How does the audience immediately understand that the owner of the house is a dressmaker?

8. Why is Alvaro angry with the salesman?

9. Why does Father de Leo think Serafina should get her life together?

10. Why does Serafina not want Bessie and Flora to bother her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare Serafina's character to the person she is at the beginning of the play to the person she is at the end.

1. What did Serafina hope to achieve at the beginning of the play?

2. What events changes Serafina's ideas about life?

3. How has Serafina's character changed by the end of the play?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the play's chronological setting.

1. What were the main concerns during the 1950s? How does the author express these concerns?

2. How would the author change the play if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the following and examine what it expresses about mid 20th century society.

1. The Catholic Church.

2. Teenage years.

3. Sicilian culture.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 664 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample