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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who enters as Paulina is paying for the candy?

2. Who turns to Roberto and meets his gaze for a moment?

3. Where is Paulina looking when the stage goes dark?

4. What does Paulina asks Gerardo to do?

5. What does Paulina say about the relationship between some doctors and the secret police?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paulina finally speaks, and her first monologue presents the full force of her hatred for the man calling himself Roberto Miranda.

1. Do you believe if someone carries hatred inside it is harmful to that person? Why or why not?

2. There have been persons in history who have been done great wrong and forgiven their oppressors. Do you think you could do that? Why or why not?

3. In what ways do you think Paulina's hatred could blind her to the possibility that Roberto is not the man who tortured her?

Essay Topic 2

Act 1, Scene 3, is an extremely brief scene without dialog, written all in stage directions. The stage is darker still, when a cloud has passed over the moon.

1. Why do you think a writer would have a scene without dialog? Use examples to support your answer.

2. What symbolism do you see in the darkness of the stage? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

By the end of Act 1, Scene 3, assuming we don't already know the story, we know that Paulina is either crazy or desperate. Perhaps it is a combination of both.

1. Do you think Paulina is crazy? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from the text.

2. Do you think a person can be crazy and still live as normally as Paulina lives? Why or why not?

3. Why might desperation look like mental illness? Use examples to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 403 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample