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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 many times has Carney had sex?

2. Who confesses to stealing Wykowski's money?

3. What does Epstein call Toomey?

4. What does the prostitute tell Eugene he should do to look older?

5. Where is Act 1, Scene 3 set?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Eugene tell Wykowski about his motives?

2. What kind of person is Eugene hoping to meet?

3. What does Daisy tell Eugene she will always know, if he winds up with another girl?

4. Compare Carney and Selridge's fantasies.

5. Describe Eugene's relationship with the other boys.

6. Why is everyone surprised about what Eugene has written about them?

7. Why is Eugene uncomfortable and nervous in Act 2, Scene 1?

8. Describe how Toomey wakes up the soldiers.

9. How do the other soldiers react when Toomey obeys his punishment?

10. Describe Arnold Epstein's eating habits.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss homosexuality in the play.

1) How do the soldiers view homosexuality, and why? Why do they use homosexuality as an insult?

2) Why does Eugene suspect Epstein is gay, and why does this make him reluctant to become close to Epstein? Why are the other soldiers quick to think that Eugene might be right?

3) Does Hennessey's experience as a homosexual man in the army change how he reacts to the other soldiers and instances of bigotry? What is the army's reaction to homosexuality, and why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the play as a coming-of-age story.

1) How does Eugene mature during the course of the play? What knowledge, experience, and understanding about the world does he gain?

2) In what ways is boot camp a rite of passage that serves as a transition from childhood to adulthood?

3) How is Eugene's visit to the prostitute a rite of passage? What other rites of passage are there in the play?

Essay Topic 3

Eugene grows from a boy into a man during the course of the play. How does the play define the quality of manhood?

1) What does it mean to be a man for Eugene? What is required of a man that's not required of a boy?

2) How does sex relate to manhood in the play? How does war relate to manhood in the play?

3) How do men in the play relate to each other? Do boys relate to each other differently than men?

(see the answer keys)

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