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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 Paul jokingly say he will test on Catcher in the Rye?

2. In the excerpt from Catcher in the Rye that Paul recites, Holden would rather chop off a man's head than what?

3. In what city was Sidney Poitier born?

4. Where do the prospective buyers for Flan's Cezanne live?

5. How much money does Flan give Paul for his assistance with Geoffrey?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paul view himself in terms of race in America?

2. What conclusion do the five duped parents reach regarding what they have in common?

3. How does the Detective respond to the complaints of the Kittredges, Kitty, and Larkin?

4. How does Dr. Fine deal with Paul's deception?

5. How does Paul explain the naked man to Flan and Ouisa?

6. Why does Flan give Paul fifty dollars after Geoffrey leaves?

7. Why does Geoffrey call at the end of this section?

8. What seems to be Paul's fate at the end of the play?

9. What mistake does Ouisa make while trying to apply first aid to Paul?

10. Why is the dinner with Geoffrey so important to the Kittredges?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ouisa Kittredge emerges as the protagonist of the play by the end. Write an essay analyzing the plot of Guare's play as a personal journey for Ouisa. What does she discover in her evening with Paul? Why is she so driven to find out his origins and where he is, and how does this drive bring her to promise extravagant things to him over the phone? What is Ouisa's state of mind at the end of the play?

Essay Topic 2

Time and again in this narrative, the question of race in America crops up. Write an essay on the idea of race in the world of this play. Do the Kittredges seem to have any other black acquaintances besides Paul? What realities of black life in America does he bring into their lives? What darker realities about race arise from the polite liberal facade of the parents in the play?

Essay Topic 3

Paul is an enigmatic figure, and he only becomes more enigmatic as more is revealed about him. Write an essay, charting the transformation of Paul in three parts:

Part 1) How does Paul begin his transformation from street hustler to society man? What does Trent have to show him to transform him into the young man who appears in the Kittredges' house?

Part 2) How does Paul reinvent his life when he meets Rick and Elizabeth in Central Park? Who does he become, and how does he take on the manor-born customs of a Trent Conway to do it?

Part 3) In what state of existence is Paul the last time Ouisa speaks to him? Does he have a distinct persona at this point? How is he different from the Paul first introduced to the audience at the beginning of the play?

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