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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 two characters sing "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at the end of the first act?

2. About what metaphorical trap does George warn Nick?

3. What new nickname does Martha give George in the second half of Act 1?

4. Why did Martha live alone with her father for most of her early life?

5. How does George refer to Martha's new outfit?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does George describe Martha's father?

2. Where does the title of the play come from?

3. Describe George and Martha's bit involving a kiss.

4. What is the story that Martha tells about boxing?

5. Describe university politics as explained by George.

6. Describe the movie that Martha references at the beginning of the play.

7. What is Nick's plan to gain control of the university?

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

9. Describe George's "party games" bit.

10. Describe Nick.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose one of the following to write an essay:

1.) To what extent are Nick and Honey surrogates for the audience? What can characters who are not acclimated to the setting of the play have in common with the viewer and what can they do that the viewer cannot? Cite examples from the text to justify your thesis.

2.) How did George and Martha come to the point at which they are when the play begins? Begin with a description of their living arrangement, and use individual events in their marriage as a frame for the essay.

3.) How do we grow to understand George and Martha as sympathetic characters by the end of the play when almost all they say is a lie? Write an essay in the defense of unreliable protagonists, citing specifics from the text as evidence.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following to write an essay:

1) Discuss the motif of neglectful, imperfect and absent parents in the play. How do you think the reemergence of this in characters' lives impacts the the action.

2) Discuss the idea of children as healing, and the desperation for love among the characters born from this idea. Use Honey and Martha's characters as subjects for this essay.

Essay Topic 3

Three times in the play, Honey is reduced to tears or gets sick. Write a paragraph about each of these breakdowns - one in each act - and how, together, they signify the yielding of social grace and denial to the reality of a desperate, helpless life.

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