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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. How does Dan say is the only way to feel completely safe on the sidewalks of New York?

2. What does Dan proceed to do after Delia's arrival in Act 1?

3. What does August say his father did to Delia?

4. Where does Dan attend college?

5. Who is the author of the Aztec poem that is recited in Act 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What topic do the characters Delia and Dan bond over late in Act 1? How do their stories connect?

2. Which character has a history of miscarriages in his/her family? How has that affected this character?

3. The Mound Builders is unique in its depiction of time. Explain the two different periods of time which are illustrated in the play and how this differentiation is made clear to the audience (and reader).

4. Who references a Chinese puzzle box in the play? What does this metaphor relate to?

5. What takes place in the falling action of The Mound Builders?

6. What is a God-king?

7. What does Delia compare her book to? Why?

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

9. How does August feel about "aesthetics?" Why?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the building of the dam signify in The Mound Builders? How does water, rain, and flooding tie into the play both literally and metaphorically?

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 Chinese proverb "When someone saves a man from drowning, he is responsible for him the rest of his life." What does this refer to in the play? What does it foreshadow?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 894 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample