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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 Dorn say destroys the individual?

2. Why is Nina late?

3. What does Arkadina want her son to spare her?

4. Who does Nina say writes beautiful stories?

5. Why does Paulina want Dorn to put his hat back on?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Peter escorted to his room?

2. Why can Nina not accept Boris' resignation to mediocrity?

3. What does Madame Arkadina say is the secret to looking youthful?

4. Why does Constantine think that Nina favors Boris?

5. Why are Simon and Yevgeny so poor?

6. How does Boris react when Madame Arkadina says they leave?

7. Why does Simon wants to go home?

8. Why is Nina late for the performance?

9. Why does Peter think he must be gravely ill?

10. Why does Boris want to stay at the estate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the values of the 1900s.

In what ways are the characters a product of their time?

How does the play express the changes Russian was going through at the time?

Does modern society share any values with 1900s Russia?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Chekhov's life. In what way is his life and personality is reflected in the book? In what ways is he like or unlike the characters?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the generation gap between younger and the older characters. What different experiences did both generations go through? What problems is the generation gap causing the characters? Is generational gap expressed in Seagull particularly wide during this time or is a wide generational gap common to all ages?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 620 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample