View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Joe's plan before going to the workers meeting?

2. What does Edna threaten to do if Joe does not change his behavior?

3. What does it mean when a character is called "yellow?"

4. What does Fatt do to send the Gunman back to his original position?

5. Why doesn't Edna want Joe to wake the children?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some reasons Joe doesn't want to strike?

2. What does Benjamin decide to do after being fired, and what had he been thinking about doing?

3. Who speaks for the workers?

4. Why does Fatt say being a "red" is so bad?

5. How does Fatt try to discourage the Voice from exposing the spy?

6. What contributes to Dr. Barnes' deep anger about rich men taking away his power to influence medical care? How does he express it?

7. Is Fayette's decision to fire Miller for refusing to spy on his supervisor morally right or wrong?

8. Is Florence right to put the family ahead of what she wants? Why or why not?

9. What is the significance of the discussion about Fayette's office?

10. What are some reasons that Odets puts figurative language into Agate's dialogue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the heart of the U.S. economy is a capitalist system which guarantees and rewards individuals and companies for the profits they make from business transactions. How well does this system work in the play? Should one aspire to wealth at any cost? Does a capitalist system necessarily require equal or fair treatment of workers? What checks and balances should exist to assure fair treatment if deemed necessary? What do capitalists like Fatt and his bosses win and lose in the 1930s.

Essay Topic 2

Odets uses two techniques to shift the reader back and forward in time in order to tell his story. What two techniques does he use and where in the story does he use them? What are the benefits of using these techniques? The downside? If you were re-writing the play, how would you rearrange the scenes?

Essay Topic 3

Color or the suggestion of color is used metaphorically throughout Scene 1. Name the colors and metaphors, and discuss the advantages of using color to discuss the situation occurring in the Scene. Are there particular emotions, beliefs, or rituals associated with the colors beyond the meanings implied by the metaphors?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 909 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample