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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 Emil angry that he can no longer burn?

2. Being a loner in the world is not George's what?

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

4. Trying to help Emil remember, what word does George provide?

5. What happened to the Giant Panda?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the significance of George's story about the Giant Panda?

3. Why does George talk about symbiosis?

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

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

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

7. What cycle must the lead duck go through?

8. What has George read about the Stratosphere?

9. What do George and Emil worry about for a duck in flight?

10. What do George and Emil think about hunting ducks and stuffing them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Emil and George are older men watching the world they knew change around them. How do they use the duck as a metaphor throughout the play? What aspects of the world do they imagine the duck to represent? Why do you think the playwright chose a duck for his play and not another type of bird? What answers do Emil and George think nature holds for them?

Essay Topic 2

During a fight with Deborah, Danny claims he does not mind physical violence but cannot abide emotional violence. What insight does this gives about Danny's character? Examine scene twenty-eight where the argument occurs. What is Deborah's complaint against Danny? What is Danny ultimately unable to bring to their relationship? How, again, does each character attempt to gain the power back in the relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Why do George and Emil so enjoy meeting in the park? Why is friendship so important to them? Why do they seek to be in harmony with nature? They are described as men in their sixties--is their philosophic waxing prompted by a fear of death? Why or why not? Use examples from their conversations to make your conclusion.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 705 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample