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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. What year dates Gardner's source materials?

2. Who did Vivian study Donne under?

3. What will happen after the final treatment cycle?

4. What fruit is the same size as Vivian's tumor?

5. In what class did Vivian write the paper she has to do over?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why does Vivian recite Donne's Holy Sonnet Six while she is waiting for Jason to examine her?

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

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

6. Why does Vivian explain her career while the technicians perform their tests?

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

8. How does Vivian's father teach her the word “soporific?”

9. Give two reasons Vivian looks up medical terms she does not know?

10. How does Vivian link what she learned in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and her career work in Donne?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the title of the play. What is wit? How is it used in literature? Whose wit is being referred to by the title of the play? What role does wit have throughout the play?

Essay Topic 2

Explain Vivian's relationship with Ashford. What does Vivian's relationship with Ashford reveal about Vivian? Why is this relationship important to Vivian? Why is it important to the story?

Essay Topic 3

Define mood. What is the overall mood of Wit? How does Edson create this mood? Are there any mood shifts throughout the play? If so, how and when do those shifts occur?

(see the answer keys)

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