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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. Who pours the tea when the samovar arrives?

2. What is the gift that arrives for the sisters from the answer to #16?

3. To whom does Andrei propose marriage in the end of the scene, almost spontaneously?

4. Who has been named secretary to the council run by Protopopov?

5. What does Andrei really want to do with his life? What is his current goal?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who seems to be going out, as indicated by their style of dress in the opening of this scene?

2. What does Masha sarcastically comment when Natasha enters the room with a candle?

3. What does Solyony's anger cause him to reveal?

4. What does Kulygin do when he enters at the beginning of this scene?

5. Why doesn't Natasha want the maskers to come?

6. What is the big news that is revealed in this scene's opening?

7. What have Kulygin and Masha been invited to do?

8. What happens, according to Tusenbach, when Solyony is around people?

9. What are the sisters celebrating when the play begins?

10. What is Natasha worried about in relation to Sophie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The many men who covet the sisters seem to indicate that love is an unpredictable thing, and that love can not always be contained within a marriage.

Part 1: List the married couples in the play. Are they happily married? Why or why not?

Part 2: List the lovers in this play. Are the lover relationships more or less satisfying to the characters? Why or why not?

Part 3: What does Chekhov seem to be saying about the idea of love in relation to the structure of being a married couple?

Essay Topic 2

Faith is something that also pervades this play, showing up in moments where the characters feel they have to persevere as they believe in something better.

Part 1: How do the male characters in this play experience or share their ideas of faith with each other and with the reader/viewer?

Part 2: How do the female characters in this play experience or share their ideas of faith with each other and with the reader/viewer?

Part 3: What does this play seem to offer about faith? Is it a worthwhile thing or something that only leads to disappointment? Support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Masha is one of the more outspoken sisters, and in doing so, she seems to give the reader/viewer a better idea as to the relationships between the sisters.

Part 1: Describe the character of Masha.

Part 2: Compare and contrast Irina to Masha.

Part 3: What is Masha's purpose in the play? What do her actions create within the context of the play? Does she seem to be a likable character? A likable sister?

(see the answer keys)

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