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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. According to George,the way to a man's heart is ___________________.

2. What attribute of Nick and Honey's does George comment on as they ring the doorbell?

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

4. How does Nick mispronounce the word "gaggle?"

5. From which department is the young professor who's coming with his wife to the house, according to Martha?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does George describe Martha's father?

2. Describe Martha's emotional confession.

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

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

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

6. Describe the state Honey is in during this scene.

7. How does Martha convince George to leave her and Nick alone?

8. How does George try to cheer Martha up at the end of the play?

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

10. Describe the chaos that occurs at the end of Act 1.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the meaning of the song "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Use specific instances in the play when it is used by characters, and examine why they sing it. Use these instances to justify your thesis as to the song's meaning.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay about George's unpublished book. How has George taken a real event from his life, fictionalized it, and then recreated it in has life as a separate event? What does this say about him as a character?

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