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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word's pronunciation is Trent trying to correct when he and Paul appear onstage?

2. How does Paul describe the imagination in this section?

3. On what holiday do Larkin and Kitty witness Rick's suicide?

4. To what country does Tess say she wants to travel in this section?

5. Why has Kitty not spoken to her children when she tells Ouisa and Flan their story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Kandinsky in the Kittredge condo is the central symbolic image of the play. Write an essay about the significance of this image. What theme do its opposite sides symbolize? How does the opposing control and wildness of the painting manifest itself in the action onstage? How do you interpret Paul's cryptic final words?

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

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?

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This section contains 316 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample