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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. Which of the following Dada artists in not mentioned by mentioned by Carr in his monologue?

2. Against what does Carr's historical winner bet sixpence?

3. How does the style of dialogue change as the new characters enter in this section?

4. As what does Carr theorize that Tzara is trying to pass?

5. According to the Bolsheviks, how long should the bourgeois-capitalist democracy last in Russia?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe Carr's obsession with clothing.

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

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

6. What is the purpose of Gwen and Joyce's visit in the limerick scene?

7. In what way has Carr's manner of study impeded his learning?

8. How does Carr's opinion of Joyce seems to change as he sums up the writer's character in his monologue?

9. What final words of wisdom does Carr offer at the end of the play?

10. How does Carr explain Tzara's appearance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

At the beginning of the play, Carr provides a long explanation of the events that are to progress. Throughout the monologue he has difficulty getting his facts straight. As related by Carr, many of the seemingly-absurd assertions later crop up in the play. In three parts, write about the way in which Stoppard brings these absurdities to life. Why do they initially seem impossible? How do they manifest themselves in the action later?

Part 1) Carr's description of Joyce vacillating between gregarious gentleman and horrid miser.

Part 2) Placing a bet on the success of Lenin.

Part 3) Lenin the Scandinavian.

Essay Topic 3

In Travesties, the personal lives of the characters are constantly being affected by the realities of external political situation. Write an essay about the role of the larger political scene on the events of the play, in three parts:

Part 1) Henry Carr is stationed at the British Consulate in Zurich. How does he arrive there? How does his experience with the war color his attitude toward Zurich? How do his objectives change do to telegrams form London?

Part 2) Tristam Tzara constantly seems at war with convention. How is his work a direct reaction against outside political forces? What are his opinions regarding the war and Russian Bolshevism?

Part 3) Lenin and Nadya's lives are always affected by the events of Russia. What central event in Russia changes their lives in Switzerland, and how do they react to it? To what extent is Lenin never really living in Zurich?

(see the answer keys)

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