View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What job does Martha assign to Nick in Act 3?

2. Which of the following is not something to which Martha compares herself in her Act 3 monologue?

3. When can George handle Martha best, does he say?

4. What contest does George say that Martha won twenty-five years ago?

5. Where does George say he picked the flowers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The past is an ambiguous thing in Albee's play. It is never entirely concrete and often changes depending on the speaker. Write a paragraph about each of the following stories told by a character about the past. How does the story change with each telling? Is the story true in any way?

Part 1) The story of Nick and Honey's courtship

Part 2) The story of George's tragic schoolfriend

Part 3) The story of George and Martha's son's childhood

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 326 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample