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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. Why will Cecily not allow Algernon to read her diary?

2. Which of the following is not an aspect of Algernon's character that Jack assails when he tells him to leave the manner

3. When the Cecily and Gwendolen both discover that each is engaged to Ernest, what do they compare?

4. How does Jack describe Algernon's eating in times of distress?

5. How does Algernon explain the money he owes for various dinners in London to Cecily?

Short Essay Questions

1. What news does Jack bring with him when he returns home from London.

2. Describe Chasuble.

3. When Algernon arrives under the guise Ernest, what does Cecily tell him about Jack's plans?

4. What reason does Miss Prism give for not wanting Ernest to be saved from his vices?

5. What reason does Cecily give for not wanting to show Algernon her diary?

6. What is Cecily's response to Algernon's proposal to her?

7. What favor does Jack request of Chasuble?

8. What has Algernon arranged for later in the afternoon that jack has as well?

9. How do Cecily and Gwendolen learn the truth about Ernest?

10. What does Cecily do to anger Gwendolen as they take tea?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Do you believe that Lady Bracknell's constant fretting about Gwendolen's inauspicious betrothal, the state of over-education, and comment on train platforms (to name a few examples) indicates an implicit fear of devaluation of high society in England? Write an essay with your position, using statements about the role of the upper class to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following to write about:

1.) What do you think is Oscar Wilde's opinion of the English upper class? Do you consider his portraits of landed English gentry is loving or caustic? Cite examples from the text.

2.) Compare, in three paragraphs, three servant characters and three aristocrats in the play. Which are the more clever and worldly? How much do the upper class characters rely on the servants?

3.) Do you think there is greater personal freedom in being part of the servant class in the Victorian era or being in the Upper class. Cite examples from the text and historical background to justify your stance.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay, focusing on Lady Bracknell's standards for a suitor. Cite three examples of her requirements, and defend her insistence on them. How do Lady Bracknell's concerns reflect the lack of options open to Victorian women.

(see the answer keys)

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