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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. To what mythological figure does Ouisa compare Geoffrey when she describes him?

2. What negative world does Ouisa repeat over and over throughout the first couple minutes of the play?

3. In what city was Sidney Poitier born?

4. To what artist's work does Flan compare his children's paintings in the second grade?

5. What percentage commission does Ouisa theorize Flan is giving Paul?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the dish that Paul prepares.

2. What surprise do the Kittredges have speaking with Larkin and Kitty?

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

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

5. Who are Rick and Elizabeth?

6. How is Geoffrey's financial situation strange?

7. How does Flan respond to Paul's calling Ouisa?

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

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

10. What is the essence of Paul's thesis?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The end of the play is ambiguous in wrapping up many of its plot lines. Write an essay about the final moments of the play, focusing on the fate of Paul. How do the Kittredges fail to find him in the Village, and how does he become lost in the criminal justice system? What does this say about his place in the world and the place of those like him?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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