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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 is Dudley R. Bostwick's greatest need?

2. What does Nick yell at Willie?

3. Which of these items is Kitty not talking about in her melancholy state?

4. What color hair does Nick, the bar owner, have?

5. Who had saved Tom's life?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What are some of the outrageous stories that Kit tells about his life?

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

5. What happens when Willie finally beats the marble machine?

6. What is the setting for Act 5?

7. How are the longshoreman, McCarthy, and the policeman, Krupp, described in Act 2?

8. How does the author use humor in Kit Carson's character in Act 4?

9. How is Dudley described in Act 1?

10. What toy do Tom and Joe bring Kitty to cheer her up?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a brief character study on Joe. What does he look like? What are his positive personality traits? What are some of his negative characteristics? What are his hopes and fears? What motivates him--if anything--at this point in his life?

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

Describe the overall setting for the play. Why does Saroyan use the setting he does? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the characters?

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