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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 Paul's thesis conclude is "God's gift" to us (34)?

2. What is Geoffrey's wife's name?

3. At the end of this section, who does Flan think Ouisa will say is God's name?

4. According to Paul, on the shooting of what movie did Sidney Poitier meet his second wife?

5. Which of the following is not an ingredient listed in the dish Paul prepares?

Short Essay Questions

1. What promise does Ouisa make Paul in exchange for his agreement to go to the police?

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

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

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

5. What comparison does Geoffrey make regarding New York as he discusses dinner?

6. What new information does the Detective have when he calls Ouisa and Flan?

7. What do the parents ask their children to do in this section?

8. How does Trent and Paul's relationship end?

9. How is Geoffrey's financial situation strange?

10. What offer does Paul make the Kittredges regarding dinner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the play, Paul is something of a sounding board for other people's sense of self. He allows them to see themselves in a better, more idealistic light. Write an essay on Paul's positive interaction with others in three parts:

Part 1) Dr. Fine reconnects with his family and his sense of social good in his meeting with Paul. How does Paul make this possible? How long does this idealism last in the doctor?

Part 2) What is Geoffrey's set understanding of the way of the world at the beginning of the play? How does Paul's visit reinforce Geoffrey's better angels and challenge his sense of complacency?

Part 3) Ouisa is perhaps the most profoundly changed by Paul. In what ways does her one night with him alter her sense of the world? How is she shaken and left discontent by their connection?

Essay Topic 2

One of the reasons that everyone in the play takes to Paul so quickly is his contention that he is Sidney Poitier's son. Write an essay about the reaction the various marks have to the thought of Poitier. What does he represent to the Kittredges? Geoffrey? Dr. Fine? Why are they so put at-ease by the thought of him?

Essay Topic 3

Paul's deceptions throughout the play are met with a combination of incredulity, rage, and sadness. Write an essay about the reaction characters have to Paul's crimes, in three parts:

Part 1) What does Dr. Fine think he is achieving in offering Paul the use of his brownstone? What emotions and social attitudes does the realization of Paul's betrayal evoke in Fine?

Part 2) Why does Flan react so vehemently against Paul and never waver thereafter? What does he think Paul's motivation is in lying to them?

Part 3) Why do the parents become obsessed with discovering the truth behind Paul's deception? Why do they go as far as publishing their story in the New York Times.

(see the answer keys)

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