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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 nationality do Joe and the woman share?

2. In what city is Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace located?

3. What does Nick yell at Willie?

4. Who buys all the papers the newsboy has?

5. What game does Willie love to play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What effect does Elsie have on Dudley when he finally sees her?

2. How does Nick show his soft-hearted side to those who are down on their luck?

3. How does Joe engage the woman sitting alone at the center table in the bar?

4. What things does Joe tell Tom to buy?

5. What role do music and creativity play in the drama?

6. How is Joe described in Act 1?

7. Explain Tom's discomfort in engaging in Kitty's daydreams.

8. How does Kitty respond when Nick insinuates that she is a prostitute?

9. What activity in the hallway interrupts Kitty's melancholy state?

10. How is Kitty Duval described in Act 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is your interpretation of the play's title, THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE? Does Saroyan mean to imply that these characters are living a good life? Or is there a message he wants the reader to learn from reading about the characters? Or is it something else entirely? Support your answer with examples if possible.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the concept of loneliness as it exhibits in the story. Which of the characters are lonely? Are they all lonely in some way? Explain the loneliness and the methods and attempts to overcome it.

Essay Topic 3

The marble machine almost becomes a character in the book because it plays such an important role in the story. Explain how an inanimate object can be a character in a story and how the marble machine "interacted" with the "other" characters. Cite three examples to support your claim.

(see the answer keys)

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