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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 does Dan say his roommate studied in college?

2. Who discovers the evidence of the village site?

3. Why does Dan rattle on during his conversation with Delia in the middle of the night in Act 1 Part 6?

4. What does Delia believe about the human eye from looking at charts as a child?

5. What does Cynthia say the posts were used for in Act 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Dan says early in the play that there are many reasons for building mounds in ancient societies. What are some of these?

2. What does the discovery in Act 2 Part 1 lead Dan to theorize about this ancient culture?

3. What fact about Jean's character does Dan ask that August not reveal to the others early in the play? Why?

4. What is the overall theme of The Mound Builders? How is this theme portrayed?

5. What is the outcome of "Legacy" to August at the end of the play? How does this make him a Tragic Hero?

6. In the opening of the play, August speaks into a tape recorder. To whom is he speaking and why?

7. What has been discovered in Act 2 Part 1? Who tells about this discovery? What is the reaction?

8. Which character's father was a physiologist? Describe the father's office from the perspective of that character.

9. Why did Delia lock herself in her apartment after completing her book? Who found her?

10. Which character says, "Great blinders is believing in and she's a great believer in blinders?" What does this mean?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define the term "motif." What is the motif in The Mound Builders? How does this motif relate to the characters in the play?

Essay Topic 2

What are the legacies of the supporting characters in The Mound Builders? What is Delia's legacy? What is Chad's? What is Jean's?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the metaphor of the Chinese Puzzle Box as it relates to Delia's novel and to the play. How does it reflect the excavation? How does it reflect August? What is found in the last box?

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