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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 does the British government request of Carr int his section?

2. Where was Carr when he heard about the offset of the First World War?

3. In what two locations does the play take place?

4. What detail of the Russian Revolution is not mentioned by Bennett in this section?

5. In mistakenly recalling Lenin's appearance, what regional appearance does Carr say he bears?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Carr livid over Joyce's request for 25 francs in ticket sales?

2. What parts of Henry Carr's story can be definitively believed by the audience?

3. What is Lenin's ill-fated plan to leave Switzerland?

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

5. What questions does Carr attempt to answer regarding Dada?

6. Describe Henry Carr as he enters the play.

7. Describe the scene at the beginning of the play.

8. How does Bennett become an asset to Lenin?

9. How does Bennett describe Tzara?

10. How does Joyce explain his decision to produce The Importance of Being Earnest?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Stoppard's plays often involve large personalities with different world-views clashing regarding some major topic. In Travesties, the topic is revolution and art. Write an essay on three characters and how they represent different views of these subjects:

Part 1) Henry Carr represents the past, a Victorian ideal. How does he relate to the other characters int he play? How does his obsession with clothing and order represent a style that is going out of fashion?

Part 2) James Joyce is perhaps the most of-the-moment in 1917. To what extend has he reconciled his love for the classical with the acknowledgment that the world is shifting? How is Ulysses a physical representation of this?

Part 3) Tristan Tzara wants to throw away everything that has come before, reject the old forms. How is he the most abrasive of characters on the stage? In what ways are all other characters put off by him?

Essay Topic 2

Over the course of the play, many characters argue the virtues and vices of new art. Each of the major figures has a different view regarding art's place in society. Write an essay discussing these viewpoints, focusing on the four major characters of the play. What does each think about the role of art? What is the value of old art? What about new art like Dada? What lesson is art meant to impart to its audience?

Part 1) Henry Carr

Part 2) Tristan Tzara

Part 3) James Joyce

Part 4) Lenin

Essay Topic 3

Lenin is more object than subject in Travesties. He is a commodity desired and detested severally through the play. Write an essay about his character. The first half of this essay should deal primarily with other characters' attitudes toward him. Why is he lionized by some and feared by others? How does his attempt to depart Switzerland force certain characters into awkward positions? The second half should deal with his personality and soul as described by Nadya. How does Lenin view the world, and how does this view lend itself to the embracing of Marxism?

(see the answer keys)

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