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| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What term for Germans is Carr unfamiliar with before entering the war?
2. Citing Karl Marx in this section, Bennett states that there is no way for a country to transition seamlessly from autocracy to what?
3. According to Marx's theories, what must the Marxist embrace temporarily in order to eventually have a proletarian state?
4. For what purpose does Joyce say he needs money from Carr?
5. To what symbol of nonviolence does Carr compare Switzerland in his monologue?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why do the Allies want to keep Lenin in Switzerland?
2. How does Carr explain Tzara's appearance?
3. How do the Zimmerwaldists plan to leave Switzerland?
4. What is Joyce's business at the house at the end of the play?
5. What final words of wisdom does Carr offer at the end of the play?
6. Why does Carr bring up Bennett's logbook in this section?
7. What lie does Carr argue is the artist's great achievement?
8. What apologia does Henry Carr make regarding his memory?
9. What admonition does Carr make to the audience regarding his memory at the end of the act?
10. In what way has Carr's manner of study impeded his learning?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Tristan Tzara is the contrarian of Travesties. He seems to lash out at all set values, just as Dada as a movement lashed out at accepted artistic norms. Focusing on his defamation of beauty, reason, and causality, write an essay about the character of Tzara. Why does he lash out at both Joyce and Carr? How does he connect the violence of the First World War to the art that came before Dada? Why, in the end, is he able to woo Gwendolen?
Essay Topic 2
The women of Travesties serve an interesting purpose in the play. They almost serve as counter-balances to the men that court them, elucidating the underpinnings of their beliefs and the truth of their assertions. Write an essay about the women in the play in three parts:
Part 1) Examine the courtship between Gwen and Tzara. How does she challenge him to defend his Dada poetry in a way no one else does? How does he prove the worth of his art in this sequence?
Part 2) Nadya narrates much of the second act of the play. What new information regarding Lenin's attitude toward art does she provide? How does this create a more vibrant portrait of the revolutionary politician?
Part 3) Throughout the play, Henry Carr's assertions seem more than a little suspect. What new information does Old Cecily provide at the end of the play? Does she seem a more reliable narrator than Carr?
Essay Topic 3
The play opens with a tableau of the Zurich Library. It includes three tables, inhabited by five characters. Write an essay analyzing this opening tableau as a diagram for the artistic and political debate which is to follow. Who dominates each table? What are these dominant figures doing at the beginning of the play? What major movements of the First World War era are represented by these tables?
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This section contains 1,057 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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