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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. At the beginning of Act 1, what aspect of his state of being does Flan repeatedly mention?

2. What school does the Kittredges' daughter attend?

3. At the end of this section, Ouisa tells Flan that God's name is what?

4. What is the last thing the Hustler says before leaving the condo?

5. What did Paul's muggers take from him in addition to his wallet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Paul's entrance.

2. What information has Flan been keeping from Ouisa that he tells her at the end of this section?

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

4. Who are Rick and Elizabeth?

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

6. What new film project does Paul describe in this section?

7. What event breaks the relative silence after the Trent Conway revelation?

8. What was Paul's inspiration for his thesis?

9. What is Ouisa's essential fear about the fate of Paul of the play?

10. What galling realization do the parents make as they read SIdney Poitier's autobiography?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the play, several couples come into contact with Paul and are affected by the experience in profoundly different ways. Write an essay about these different relationships. How do they come into contact with Paul? What does he give them and what does he take away? How are they forced to reassess their ideas of self, love, family?

Part 1) Larkin and Kitty

Part 2) Elizabeth and Rick

Part 3) Ouisa and Flan

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Paul. Focus on his objectives as a character. What does he want out of life, and why does lying his way into affluent homes and assuming a false identity help achieve it? What do the Kittredges offer him that the other families do not? Do you think that his objective reveals some psychological scar?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about parent-child relationships in Guare's play. What is the recurring motif regarding the parents who are duped in the play and their children? How do these relationships play out onstage? How do these parents regard their children, and how does Paul represent a sort of idealized form of their children?

(see the answer keys)

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