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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 Joyce announce that he intends to do before leaving the room in this section?

2. According to Tzara, what is out of fashion since the war?

3. What is the profession of the man who has Lenin as a tenant, according to Carr?

4. According to Carr, what sensation is created by the many punctual clocks in Zurich?

5. To which "misfortune" does Carr refer in this section, regarding Tristan Tzara (14)?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Tristan Tzara discover the word Dada?

3. What is the last straw for Gwen and Cecily regarding Tzara and Carr?

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

5. How do the Zimmerwaldists plan to leave Switzerland?

6. How does Carr explain the essential pleasure of Switzerland to Bennett at the beginning of this section?

7. What is Henry Carr's relationship to James Joyce?

8. How does Carr incorrectly describe Lenin in this monologue?

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

10. What quandary is Carr facing in this section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the character of Bennett. He is far an away the most cultivated and best-informed person in the play, but he is a manservant. Stoppard, in his cast notes, says that he should be "quite a weighty presence" (vii). What is Bennett's function int he script at the beginning of the play? How does Carr's leaving him in charge of the consulate affect Lenin's situation? What new revelations about his character are revealed in the final moments of the play?

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

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?

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