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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. About what Swiss food does Carr state Rochefoucauld complained?

2. What object does Tzara say man would be without art?

3. In describing his trenches experience in this section, Carr says he ruined several what?

4. What name has Carr been given for Gwen's chaperon?

5. What does Joyce announce that he intends to do before leaving the room in this section?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Joyce's business at the house at the end of the play?

2. How does Joyce convince Carr to take the role of Algernon?

3. What new revelation regarding Bennett is revealed in the final moments of the play?

4. Describe some examples of the aristocratic aloofness Carr displays int his section.

5. Why does Tzara have two names?

6. What opinion do the Bolsheviks have regarding bourgeois-capitalist democracy in Russia?

7. In what terms does Carr describe Switzerland in this section?

8. What does Lenin ask Nadya to do when he is imprisoned in St. Petersburg?

9. Why does Cecily think Henry Carr is someone else?

10. What apologia does Henry Carr make regarding his memory?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Truth and confusion is a central theme of Travesties. The play itself is a story told by an elderly and senile man, and it examines the unlikeliness of ever knowing for certain with the truth of a story is. Write an essay about memory and confusion, focusing on three aspects of the play:

Part 1) This play opens and closes with monologues by Henry Carr, and throughout he interrupts the action to explain it and himself. What apologies and explanations does he make regarding his memory? At what points does he become defiant regarding the truth of his story?

Part 2) Throughout the play, Stoppard has what are called time slips, moments when the action repeats itself and changes slightly. What do these time slips reflect? When do they occur, and how do they change the meaning of much of the action?

Part 3) What, in the end, can the audience believe about Henry Carr's story? What assertions turn out to be completely false? What is Stoppard saying about the human inclination to self-mythologize?

Essay Topic 2

In the confusion and madness of 1917, the characters of Travesties seem to find their only solace in art. Write an essay examining art as a constant, an anchor that secures individuals buffeted by war and revolution. Focusing on three endeavors in the play, describe the character attitude toward them. Why do they undertake them? What importance do they serve in the mad world of the play?

Part 1) Tristan Tzara and his poetry.

Part 2) James Joyce and Ulysses.

Part 3) Henry Carr and The Importance of Being Earnest?

Essay Topic 3

In Travesties, the setting of Zurich is a central component of the story, creating a unique combination of peace and fervor. Write an essay about the role of Zurich in the play in three parts:

Part 1) At the beginning of the play Henry Carr speaks glowingly of life in Switzerland during the war. What does he love in particular about it? How is it a succor for someone who has been in the trenches?

Part 2) Joyce and Tzara both comment that Zurich has become the artistic center of Europe. What has brought so many creative souls to the city? What new and old art is being created?

Part 3) Zurich is also the home of political exiles. Describe the exiled leftist Russian government that holds regular gatherings in Switzerland. How do they plan the revolution from their exiled post?

(see the answer keys)

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