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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What question does Vivian discuss in her opening monologue?
(a) “Do you have any questions?”
(b) “Does that sound good?”
(c) “How are you feeling today?”
(d) “Do you understand?”

2. What causes Jason to lose his composure at the end of Vivian's physical exam?
(a) The fact that she is a professor he had as an undergraduate.
(b) Susie's outburst.
(c) The size of the mass in Vivian's body.
(d) Vivian's response to his exam.

3. How old is Vivian when Scene 7 opens?
(a) 18.
(b) 5.
(c) 50.
(d) 10.

4. What stage is Vivian's cancer in?
(a) 1.
(b) 4.
(c) 2.
(d) 3.

5. What overwhelms the meaning of the sonnet in the translation Vivian used?
(a) Punctuation.
(b) Adverbs.
(c) The translator's religiosity.
(d) Meter.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Jason call Vivian's condition when he sees her at the beginning of Scene 8?

2. Why is Vivian's treatment aggressive?

3. Who published Vivian's dissertation?

4. Why does Vivian go into the hospital at the beginning of Scene 8?

5. Who does Vivian ask Susie to call for her when Susie offers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Vivian as she appears at the opening of the play.

2. What does Vivian say the audience will see in “this dramatic structure?” What does Vivian want to document?

3. How does Vivian foreshadow, or hint at, her fever prior to Scene 8?

4. What are three things Vivian think about while Kelekian is explaining her diagnosis?

5. What does Vivian like about grand rounds?

6. What does Vivian think the process would be if she barfed her brains out?

7. Why does Jason not want to lower Vivian's dose of chemotherapy?

8. Why is Ashford unhappy that Vivian used the translation of Donne that she did? Why does Ashford prefer Gardner's edition?

9. What is the irony of Vivian's hospitalization during her chemotherapy?

10. What is the standard greeting where Vivian is? What is her standard response?

(see the answer keys)

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