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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 are the men contemplating at the end of the play?

2. What is the first thing the men spot on the water?

3. What concerns Emil about ducks' safety in the wild?

4. What kind of housing do George and Emil live in?

5. What does Emil call domesticated ducks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspect of barnyard ducks' lives do George and Emil agree they are better off not knowing?

2. With what example does George contradict Emil's statement that nothing can live alone?

3. What is George's account of the hunter who came across the ducks in the clearing?

4. What are some of the items the men claim are needed to hunt a duck?

5. Why does Emil sometimes think the park is more trouble than it is worth?

6. Why does George talk about symbiosis?

7. What occurrences are part of George and Emil's belief that everything has a purpose?

8. Why did the Ancient Greeks watch birds?

9. According to Emil, what is happening to some fish near Australia?

10. What cycle must the lead duck go through?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

David Mamet has a very specific writing style. Examine both Sexual Perversity in Chicago and The Duck Variations. How are they stylistically similar? Are they stylistically different in any way? Study these aspects in each play:

1) Dialogue, including rhythm and cadence to the character's speech.

2) Setting, including time and place.

3) Stage directions.

4) Syntax.

5) Themes.

Be sure to use examples taken from the text and to cite them correctly.

Essay Topic 2

When Danny and Deborah argue about the shampoo, is their argument really all about the shampoo? Why or why not? How is their power struggle indicative of the time period in the play? What are the larger societal implications of their argument? Reexamine the scene. Point out who has the power at what moment and why.

Essay Topic 3

In The Duck Variations, how are George and Emil's personalities similar? How do they differ? How do George and Emil react to different topics in the play such as death, life, nature, and human society? Choose three variations in the play where George and Emil deal with an issue differently. Which would you say is the dominant personality? Why? Why do all their conversations center around ducks?

(see the answer keys)

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