View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Fonsia wins the first gin game by doing what?

2. Upon losing the second game, Weller becomes upset and starts collecting cards. What does he forget to do?

3. According to Weller, how does Fonsia play the first hand well?

4. When Weller begins losing his temper at the game, Fonsia threatens what?

5. How long has Fonsia been at the home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you characterize the questions Weller makes to Fonsia, and how do they propel the first scene of the play?

2. How does the scoring, according to the Hollywood style, work in gin?

3. Prior to the deal being made in Act 1, Scene 2, how would you characterize this scene - as more of a comedy or a tragedy?

4. What does Fonsia's childhood suggest about her character?

5. What do the costumes of the two characters at the opening of Act 1, Scene 2 suggest?

6. In Act 1, Scene 2, why would Fonsia's father turn over in his grave, according to Weller?

7. What is the simple truth about old age homes - a truth not even wealth can correct, according to Weller? How might the two characters thwart this truth?

8. What do you think is Weller's opinion of the other residents of the home after reading Act 1, Scene 1?

9. In Act 1, Scene 1, what does the condition of the stage setting suggest about the financial standing of the residents?

10. What is Weller's immediate reaction to Fonsia's distress in Act 1, Scene 1, and what does this suggest about his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does luck have in the play? For whom is the luck good and for whom is it bad? Please take the context of the characters' histories into account.

Essay Topic 2

How are Weller and Fonsia's ex-spouses similar in nature? How are they different from her father as she remembers him? Is her son the victim of preconceived notions of hers?

Essay Topic 3

How much do the two characters value truth? Which character hides the truth, which one lies outright, and what does this suggest about one over the other?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 770 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample