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. Which character says "I don't care much for men anyway"?

2. What did Estelle die of?

3. Which character says that the three are all "damned souls"?

4. What does Inez say a torturer looks like?

5. Whom does Garcin say always got on his nerves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Estelle complain about when she enters the room?

2. How do you know that these characters are dead and in hell, despite the fact that Sartre does not explicitly state it?

3. When Garcin is asked why he is in the room, what does he say? Do you believe him, and why or why not?

4. As Inez, Estelle, and Garcin watch their friends and family back on Earth, how do they react?

5. Do you think that one of these characters is more truthful than the other two? If so, which one?

6. What is Garcin's response to Inez saying that there was reason to be afraid "before," but not now?

7. When Garcin asks Inez how she knows what a torturer looks like, what does she say?

8. What are some of the things that cause tension between Inez and Garcin?

9. What are some examples of foreshadowing in the first part of the play?

10. Describe, at this point in the play, the nature of hell.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Garcin's discussion with the Valet at the beginning is the way Sartre conveys a lot of crucial information to the audience.

Close read and consider the following passage: "Your eyelids. We move ours up and down. Blinking, we call it. It's like a small black shutter that clicks down and makes a break. Everything goes black; one's eyes are moistened. You can't imagine how restful, refreshing it is. Four thousand little rests per hour."

Write an essay in which you consider the following questions:

1. What is Garcin literally saying? In what context does Garcin speak this passage?

2. Explain and describe the pattern of symbols that this passage belongs to. What does the eye mean, in this passage, and in the play?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the order in which Sartre introduces the characters into the room. Write an essay that considers the following:

1. Why does Garcin come first? What are the advantages to the story and to the tension that will develop to having him introduce the play and anchor the action?

2. If you were Sartre, would you have put Inez on stage next? Is it significant that she and Garcin are in the room alone for a few minutes before Estelle joins them?

3. Discuss Estelle's introduction to the room (the color of the sofa, etc.) and describe how it heightens the growing tension in the room.

4. How does the order of the characters foreshadow the very end of the play?

Essay Topic 3

Near the end of the play, Garcin and Estelle make ready to flee the room. Describe what happens when the door opens. Consider the following questions: Why does Garcin want to leave the room? Why does Estelle want to leave the room? Does Inez want to leave the room? Why or why not.

In addition, decide what you would do, if you were in their circumstances. Would you leave the room? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 816 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample