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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. Against which innovation does George speak out vehemently?

2. What animal did George's school friend swerve his car to avoid hitting?

3. To whom is this actress married in the film, according to Martha?

4. Besides football, at what other sport is Nick adept?

5. To what literary heroine does Martha compare herself near the end of Act 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Nick.

2. What causes Honey to throw up at the end of this scene?

3. Describe the moment at the faculty party that Martha describes and how it affected her.

4. Describe George.

5. Describe Martha's emotional confession.

6. What do Nick and Honey learn about George and Martha's son in this section?

7. Describe Martha when she returns to the main room and how the guests react.

8. In what ways do George and Martha disagree about the particulars of their son?

9. What is Martha's plan for the rest of the night, and why aren't she and George going to bed?

10. About what part of George's picking flowers do he and Martha disagree?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The collapse of inhibitions - mostly, but not exclusively, as a result of drink - is a key driver of action in the play. Write an essay about the disappearance of inhibitions as time goes on:

Part 1) Examine the character of Honey. How is the entirety of her character arc a breaking down of inhibitions leading to her final admission in Act 3.

Part 2) How does the relationship between Nick and Martha change over the course of the play as a result of the breaking down of inhibitions?

Part 3) How is George's revelation about his child the ultimate collapse of his and Martha's inhibitions?

Essay Topic 2

Fear of reality is a major theme in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Write an essay on this topic and how it affects the action:

Part 1) George frequently tells and retells the story of a boy who accidentally kills his parents and suffers a descent into insanity. In what ways is this based in reality and in what ways is it fictional?

Part 2) Martha creates a detailed and poetic life for her "son." What purpose does this serve for her?

Part 3) How does the final moment of the the play signify a terror at having to face the real world?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the three games that the are played over the course of the play. Who drives the game, and what is its objective:

Part 1) Humiliate the Host

Part 2) Get the Guests

Part 3) Bringing Up Baby

(see the answer keys)

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