View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does A say to C at the end of Act 1, Part 2?

2. Who is sitting on the bench, at the foot of the bed, at the beginning of Act 1?

3. What makes A cry in Act 1, Part 2?

4. Who checks to see if A is still alive at the end of Act 1, Part 4?

5. According to C, why are B and C not as excited about the movie star as A is?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of A, B, and C's lack of names?

2. How do A, B, and C react to the son's arrival?

3. What does C tell A in Act 2, Part 4?

4. How does A's son feel about her use of racial slurs?

5. How does B reassure a weeping A when she can't remember details in Act 1, Part 3?

6. What do B and C say about the movie star A met?

7. How does A describe her relationship with Sis in Act 1, Part 3?

8. Why does C object to the way A describes her husband in Act 1, Part 2?

9. To whom is A referring when she uses the pronoun "he"?

10. In Act 1, Part 2, what does C say about A's finances?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A makes references to her son, and their estrangement, before the son materializes in person in Act 2. What caused the estrangement between A and her son? How was this estrangement resolved? Was A able to forgive her son? If not, how was their reconciliation reached? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

In the second act, it becomes clear that B and C are younger versions of A, and each of them tell their versions of the story. What happened to make A and B so impatient with C's perspective? Was there any defining event that marked the transition from C to B, and from B to A? If so, what was it? If not, what defines these women at each stage of their life? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

When A is upset about forgetting things, C suggests that there is safety and salvation in forgetting things. Do the other events of the play suggest that it is possible to do so? Or is it necessary to come to terms with the past and resolve the issues of one's past with the reality of one's present? How does A resolve the issues of her past before her death? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 895 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample