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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. In this section, how much of an overcall does Geoffrey tell Flan he is willing to pay for the Cezanne?

2. What twentieth century play does Paul quote in his thesis?

3. Who do Ouisa and Flan address in the first half of this section?

4. Who does Flan stop Geoffrey from calling in this section?

5. Who tells Paul to leave the condo in this section?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How has Paul's story changed in this section?

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

4. What do the Kittredges do after they regain their composure?

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

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

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

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

9. How does Ouisa lose Paul?

10. How does Paul describe the Kittredge children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

The idea of the imagination resonates strongly throughout he play, beginning of course with Paul's "thesis" in the first passages. Write an essay on Guare's understanding of imagination in three parts:

Part 1) Compare Paul's conception of the purpose of imagination in his thesis with what he perceives to be society's new definition of imagination. How are they different? Why does Paul consider the latter reductive?

Paul 2) How doe Ouisa, Flan and Geoffrey react to Paul's thesis on imagination? When Paul appears in Ouisa's imagination later in the play, how does he amend his notion of imagination?

Paul 3) How is what Paul actually does to the families of the play the opposite of his sense of imagination? Is he chipping away at his own personality living in a state of constant deception?

(see the answer keys)

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