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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. When Jerry finishes his monologue on his family, what kind of joke does he call his life?

2. What does he think about the landlady?

3. When did Jerry's mother's sister die?

4. Where is Peter sitting when Jerry finds him?

5. What does Jerry call that incident?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Jerry bothering Peter?

2. What does Jerry do when he realizes he has upset Peter? How does Peter respond?

3. How does Jerry urge Peter into a fight?

4. How does Jerry react to Peter's reaction?

5. Why does Jerry quickly interrupt Peter again?

6. What does Jerry do to Peter at this point in the play? What is Peter's reaction?

7. What does Jerry wonder about his trip to the park?

8. What are the real reasons for Jerry's plans?

9. Describe Peter and his appearance in the play.

10. What does Jerry tell Peter about his communication with people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The monologue, "The Story of Jerry and the Dog" is one that doesn't always make sense to modern readers of "The Zoo Story." In reality, however, it does have significance and certainly serves as the high point of the play. What is the purpose of this monologue? What does this monologue have to say about Jerry? What does this story teach the reader about Jerry's view of the world and his ability to solve problems? What is the point of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Jerry seems to think he needs to learn to deal with other items in his life before he will be ready to deal with a human. Does this make sense? Why or why not? What does this seem to say about Jerry's social skills? Could this be a result of his upbringing? Why or why not? How can Jerry speed up the process of learning to communicate?

Essay Topic 3

The setting of the play is Central Park in New York, but it seems that the setting could be a character as well. What function does the setting play in this play? How does it affect the action that takes place? How does the park provide the best setting for the conversations to take place? Is there another setting that would be been better? Why or why not?

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This section contains 679 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample