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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 was Vivian's principal task during her time with Ashford?

2. Vivian says she wants to know what the doctors mean when they ______.

3. Who presents Vivian's case during grand rounds?

4. What is Vivian's second appointment in Scene 4?

5. How does Vivian get to the hospital at the beginning of Scene 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Vivian's diagnosis so concerning?

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Why does Jason suddenly stop as he is talking about Vivian during the examination?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the parallel between Vivian's study of Donne and her battle with cancer. How does the study of Donne complement Vivian's illness? Why is cancer more difficult for Vivian than the study of Donne? What does this parallel reveal about Vivian's character?

Essay Topic 2

Define characterization. Give at least one example of each type of characterization used in Wit to describe Vivian. Write a brief character biography of Vivian.

Essay Topic 3

Define metadrama. Explain Edson's use of metadrama in Wit. How does Edson use metadrama? How does the use of metadrama affect the audience's perception of the story? Is Edson's use of metadrama effective? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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