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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the Doctor say that Ill died of in the end of the play?
(a) Heart attack.
(b) Strangling.
(c) Seizure.
(d) Stroke.

2. Which character says he's been over-drinking lately in Act 3, Scene 2?
(a) The Mayor.
(b) The Schoolmaster.
(c) The Policeman.
(d) Ill.

3. What is the Doctor's last name in the play?
(a) Neusslin.
(b) Heimlin.
(c) Heimberger.
(d) Verschant.

4. In the postscript, the author writes that he has portrayed action and not what?
(a) Parable.
(b) Tragedy.
(c) Comedy.
(d) Allegory.

5. Who does not raise a hand in the vote in Act 3, Scene 4?
(a) Ill's wife.
(b) The Schoolmaster.
(c) Claire.
(d) Ill.

Short Answer Questions

1. Man One says that every bridesmaid was a what in Act 3, Scene 2?

2. The inscription which descends in Act 3, Scene 4 reads, "Life is Serious, ____ Serene."

3. Where does Mrs. Ill tell the reporters her husband is in Act 3, Scene 2?

4. What is the principle concern that Claire's visitors come to speak to her about in Act 3, Scene 1?

5. Who does the Schoolmaster say he is an admirer of in Act 3, Scene 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plea do the visitors make to Claire in Act 3, Scene 1?

2. What does Ill thank Claire for in Act 3, Scene 3?

3. Who has arrived in the town in Act 3, Scene 2? What is the townspeople's concern about this?

4. What takes place in the climax of the play? Where is this scene located?

5. How did the child of Ill and Claire die?

6. What does Durrenmatt mean regarding "not imposing excessive meaning" in the postscript?

7. Who meets Claire in Act 3, Scene 1? Why?

8. What are Ill's final requests before dying?

9. What is absurd about the proposition made to Claire in Act 3, Scene 1?

10. What is the outcome of the vote in Act 3, Scene 4? How do the townspeople justify it?

(see the answer keys)

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