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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 Aradina smoke?

2. Why is Treplieff's play so hard to act in?

3. Who does Arkadina say she is not?

4. What does Pauline say the men are ready to go down on their knees to?

5. What is Dorn's first name?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Boris react when Madame Arkadina says they leave?

2. Why are Masha and Simon looking for Constantine?

3. How does Illya react to Madame Arkadina's outburst?

4. Why does Madame Arkadina not want to stay at the estate?

5. What news in the second act act delights Boris?

6. What does Constantine say is the reason for his bad mood?

7. What do Boris and Nina say to each other before Boris leaves?

8. Why is Nina late for the performance?

9. What do the characters say about Constantine's work when he is gone?

10. What does Yevgeny think is the sound that sounds like a gun shot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

THE SEA GULL is translated from Russian into English. How much meaning can a play loses through a translation? What aspects of the play do you think would be the most difficult to express in English? How do you think a translator can overcome these difficulties?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the play's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Why do Simon and Masha get married if they are not both in love? In what way does Chekhov suggest that union could prove destructive? What effect could such marriage have on children?

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