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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. What does Geoffrey say amazes him about New York in his first line?

3. How does the Hunan Wok misspell its sign?

4. In what country are the coal miners whom Gorbachev is cheering, according to Ouisa?

5. Who calls the Kittredges soon after Paul leaves?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do the Kittredges conspire to find Paul at the end of this section?

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

4. During the opening moments of the play, what do Ouisa and Flan do onstage?

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

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

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

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

9. What is the meaning of the title of the play?

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

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

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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