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

2. What did the doctors tell A to do for her husband's infected shoulder?

3. Why do the doctors want to amputate A's arm?

4. Who is onstage at the end of Act 1, Part 4?

5. A was friends with people of many races and ethnicities, except which?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the argument A, B, and C have in Act 2, Part 2, why do people cheat?

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

3. What accident does A relate in Act 2, Part 3?

4. What happened during the bracelet incident?

5. What does C say about how she and Sis made a living in Act 2, Part 1?

6. What does B represent?

7. What happens in the premonition that A describes in Act 2, Part 4?

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

9. What does A say about jewelry at the beginning of Act 1, Part 4?

10. How does C describe herself in Act 2, Part 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A, B, and C all have different ideas of the best time of life. C feels that all the good times ended with her, B feels that middle age is the best time, and A feels that the best time is at the end. What are the reasons that each woman gives for her favorite time of life? Which one do you most agree with? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

A tells her son of a premonition she had about her death. What are the most important details in this premonition? What is the significance of A's hand being cold when the son takes it? Why does A repeat this fact over and over? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

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