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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 is the throne in the palace made of?

2. Where did Emperor Jones learn the ways of the white man?

3. How has Emperor Jones changed in the first four scenes?

4. Which literary device is employed in this first forest scene?

5. What does Jones do when he appears at the beginning of the third forest scene?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens at the beginning of the second forest scene to ease Emperor Jones' fears?

2. Some of Emperor Jones' apparitions are racial memories. What does this conclusion say about the state or the future of the black race?

3. In what way is the routine of the palace out of the ordinary as the play begins?

4. How does Emperor Jones' experience in the second scene echo his experience in America?

5. How have the natives prepared to kill Emperor Jones?

6. In what way is Emperor Jones' situation ironic?

7. What effect do the formless fears have on Emperor Jones?

8. Describe Emperor Jones' state of mind in the second scene.

9. Describe the setting for Act 1, Scene 5, the fourth forest scene.

10. Why was Emperor Jones foolish to fire his gun at the formless fears?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How has the situation of American blacks changed since 1929, when this play was written? Have they overcome the challenges Emperor Jones faces, or represents himself as having faced? Has the ambiguity of the play's ending been resolved by multiculturalism? Cite instances from recent history as well as instances from the script.

Essay Topic 2

Henry Smithers is the only white man in the play, and the witch doctor and Lem and the old woman in the first scene are the only natives with speaking roles. Compare and contrast the roles of the white and black characters. How are they the same? How are they different? What difference does skin color make in this play? What can Smithers do that the natives cannot, and vice versa? Are these characters presented as individuals, or as typifying their respective races?

Essay Topic 3

Citing specific instances from the text, describe three literary devices O'Neill uses in Emperor Jones. These might include foreshadowing, characterization, symbolism, dialect, metaphor, etc. How does the literary device appear in the play? How does it enhance the plot, building the play toward a crisis and then resolving that crisis?

(see the answer keys)

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