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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. The Woman says she is glad to hear what?

2. What name does the Woman say the Man can call her?

3. What name does the Woman say is too common?

4. In Scene 1, the Woman reveals that she does not have many what?

5. What does the Man hear in Scene 4 that wakes him up?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Man doing at the beginning of the second scene, and what is the Woman's reaction?

2. What happens at the end of the fourth scene?

3. What is the setting of Scene 1?

4. What happens at the beginning of Scene 4?

5. What does the Woman say about her dreams, and what does she say she dreamed of?

6. How does the Man answer when the Woman asks him what his name is, and what name does the Woman give him?

7. What does the Woman tell the Man to do at the end of the third scene, and what does she do to the man?

8. What has changed about the Man's reaction at night in Scene 4 from the previous scene of him at night?

9. What does the Woman accuse the Man of believing, and what does she tell the Man to do?

10. What does the Man tell the Woman about her music in Scene 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Woman uses the song of her flute to provide hope for herself in a world of loneliness. At the end of the play, the Man picks up the Woman's flute and attempts to recreate the hope he saw created by the Woman. Answer the following questions with supporting examples from the play:

1) What does the flute represent to the Woman?

2) What does the flute first represent to the Man? Does his view of the music and flute change over time? If so, what causes this change?

3) What is the author implying at the end of the play when the Man takes up the flute and attempts to play it? Is all hope lost for the Man's fate? Is this the Woman's parting gift to the Man? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The plot of "The Sound of a Voice" illustrates the lives of the Man and the Woman over a short span of time. Answer the following questions with supporting examples:

1) How does the organization of the play influence the plot of the story?

2) How does the short period together affect the way the characters are portrayed to interact with each other?

3) Why did the author choose to focus on such a short span of time? How does this affect the presentation of the play as a theatrical performance?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the play, the Woman is represented as an artful soul who has a solitary but poetic life. Please use examples, and write an essay to answer the following questions:

1) How do outsiders perceive the Woman? What makes them think that she is like the way she is?

2) How does the Man's perception of the Woman change over time? Does he truly change his opinion of her by the end of the play?

3) Does the author imply that men view women as beautiful yet mysterious beings? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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