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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. What is the name of Chris's girlfriend?

2. What word does Chris use to describe the crime that he and Jason committed?

3. What does Stan say is the best thing that has ever happened to him?

4. What does Stan say he wishes management had said to him at Olstead's every now and then?

5. How much of a pay cut does Brucie say that he and the other workers had offered to take, but was still refused by their company?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the theme of silence appear within the conversation that Jason and Chris have about college?

2. How does Jason feel about his relationship with his mom Tracey in 2000?

3. During the conversation about the open management position, how does Cynthia and Tracey's relationship experience a noticeable shift?

4. How is the theme of abject desperation demonstrated through Stan's reporting of the newspaper story about town citizen Freddy Brunner?

5. What is Nottage's purpose for including the character of Jessie within the narrative?

6. How does invisibility play a role in Scenes 1 and 2 of Act One?

7. How is irony present in Jason's complaint when he says, "Fucking union got all our money tied up in benefits and shit, don't have nothing left for fun" (29)?

8. In the earlier of the two eras depicted in the play, what are the differences between Chris's ambitions and Jason's ambitions?

9. How does Brucie's experience at the union office again display the theme of racial tension?

10. In what ways are Chris and Cynthia shown to have similar characteristics?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the playwright's use of the two sets of character foils in the play: Chris and Jason, and Cynthia and Tracey. What purposes do these two sets of character foils serve in the play?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role of family within the play Sweat. What types of family relationships are represented and how does Lynn Nottage use their variety to inform many of the play's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Stan's role within the events of the play and explain how his character helps to further develop certain themes inherent in Lynn Nottage's piece.

(see the answer keys)

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