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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. During their initial conversation in the first act, what does Estragon tell Vladimir is unbuttoned?

2. According to the play's notes, the action begins

3. In the first act, after Estragon falls asleep, Vladimir

4. After Estragon repeatedly asks Pozzo to sit down, Pozzo finally does and then tells Estragon and Vladimir that he must

5. During the course of the play, Estragon asks Vladimir if he is sure they are waiting in the right spot. In Act I, in response to Estragon's concern, Vladimir reminds him they were told to wait by the

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Beckett uses the moon to illuminate the stage? Remember that moonlight is different than sunlight and that the moon becomes part of the play in the same way that the tree does.

2. Estragon and Vladimir frequently fall asleep throughout the play. Why do you think Beckett uses that as a thread throughout the play.

3. What does Lucky do to entertain Estragon, Vladimir, and Pozzo. What is Lucky's name for it and why?

4. What are Estragon and Vladimir doing when the play finally ends?

5. Estragon and Vladimir keep discussing whether they should help Pozzo while Pozzo keeps repeating his pleas for help. Do Estragon and Vladimir finally agree to respond to Pozzo's requests for help? Why or why not?

6. After the discussion about radishes in Act II, what does Vladimir suggest he and Estragon do to pass the time?

7. Vladimir asks the boy what Mr. Godot does. How does the boy respond?

8. Pozzo smokes a pipe after dinner. He tells Estragon and Vladimir that even though the second pipe is sweet, it is not as sweet as the first. Why might Pozzo believes the first pipe is sweeter, and why does Pozzo have the second pipe? What does this contribute to the mood of the play?

9. In Act II, Pozzo finally decides that he and Lucky must leave. Vladimir asks Pozzo if Lucky can sing for them before he and Lucky leave. What does Pozzo tell Vladimir?

10. In Act I, when Pozzo tells Estragon and Vladimir that he has to leave and keep to his schedule, what does Vladimir tell him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Estragon is beaten during the two nights the play covers. He seems to accept the beatings as a part of life. What do you think Beckett was trying to say? Keep in mind that when Vladimir tells Estragon he would have stopped the beating, he doesn't mean that he would have stopped the people who beat Estragon, but that he would stop Estragon from doing whatever he had done to antagonize those who beat him.

Essay Topic 2

Both Vladimir and Estragon suffer from constant pain. Why may Beckett have given them each a chronic condition that constantly occupied their attention? Pozzo and Lucky also have pain in their lives although, in the first act, it is different from the chronic conditions suffered by Vladimir and Estragon. Then, in the second act, Pozzo is afflicted with a condition that causes him a different kind of pain. How does Beckett use pain as a theme running throughout the play? How does this theme contribute to Beckett's overall message?

Essay Topic 3

Imagine that Godot finally makes his appearance one day. How might he feel about the fact that Estragon and Vladimir had spent so much time waiting for him? What, if anything, might Godot would do for Estragon and Vladimir? If he were to encounter Pozzo and Lucky, would Godot do anything for them even though they had not been waiting for him?

(see the answer keys)

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