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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. How does Vivian get Susie to come into her room?

2. What does Jason say Donne makes Shakespeare sound like?

3. Why does Jason want Susie to increase Vivian's hydration?

4. How is Vivian's medication administered?

5. What does Vivian say is the trouble when she breaks down in tears?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Vivian allow Susie to call her “sweetheart?”

2. Why does Vivian shut her own eyelids and cross her arms over her chest?

3. How does Vivian compare a true believer with the speaker of the sonnet?

4. Does Donne ever understand his Salvation Anxiety? Why or why not?

5. How do Jason and Susie's views of Vivian compare and contrast?

6. Why is Vivian unable to explain to the audience what she is going through before she receives morphine?

7. What is Salvation Anxiety?

8. What is the parallel between Vivian and Jason's careers?

9. Why does Vivian think of herself as “just the specimen jar?”

10. What is the significance of Vivian surviving eight cycles of chemotherapy at the full dosage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define irony. Give at least two examples of irony in Wit. What types of irony are each of these examples? How do you know these instances are ironic? What do these instances of irony do to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the importance of John Donne to the play. What role does Donne play in the story? What is Vivian's relationship with Donne? What is the parallel between Donne's works and Vivian's experience with cancer?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the controversy surrounding Vivian's end-of-life wishes. What are Vivian's wishes? How does each of her caregivers feel about these wishes? Are Vivian's wishes honored at the end of the play? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 749 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample