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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Irv think of Florence?

2. What animal does Sid compare himself to?

3. What lesson does Benjamin learn about theory versus life experience?

4. What influential character is talked about but does not appear in Scene 3 or Scene 4?

5. What is Clayton's relationship to the Voice?

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

There is a saying that charity begins at home. Yet, in this play, charity seems to have succumbed to a hardness and harshness. How do you define charity in its broadest sense? How do you explain the near absence of charity in the lives of the characters, if you see it as absent? What does charity do for the giver and receiver? What prices do individuals and society pay when charity disappears or becomes minimal?

Essay Topic 3

Fatt argues his case for not striking by introducing two important concepts, patriotism and disloyalty, and refers repeatedly to one primary source for his proof. Discuss why patriotism and disloyalty would carry such weight at this time in history. What events, if any, could have contributed to the beliefs that Fatt expresses? What other sources were available to aid Fatt in arguing his position?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 340 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample