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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. Who does Paul jokingly say he will test on Catcher in the Rye?

2. Who calls the Kittredges soon after Paul leaves?

3. How much money does Flan need to convince Geoffrey to loan him at the beginning of Act 1?

4. From what musical is the song that Ouisa wants to sing as she leans against a barricade?

5. Which hotel is Poitier checking into in the morning, according to Paul?

Short Essay Questions

1. During the opening moments of the play, what do Ouisa and Flan do onstage?

2. What is Flan's attitude toward the art he sells?

3. How does Kitty, Larkin, and the Kittredge's meeting with their children go in this section?

4. How do the Kittredges conspire to find Paul at the end of this section?

5. How do Flan and Ouisa know Geoffrey?

6. What galling realization do the parents make as they read SIdney Poitier's autobiography?

7. What new film project does Paul describe in this section?

8. What do the Kittredges do when Paul tries to leave?

9. How does Trent and Paul's relationship end?

10. What conclusion do the five duped parents reach regarding what they have in common?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the reasons that everyone in the play takes to Paul so quickly is his contention that he is Sidney Poitier's son. Write an essay about the reaction the various marks have to the thought of Poitier. What does he represent to the Kittredges? Geoffrey? Dr. Fine? Why are they so put at-ease by the thought of him?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the play, Flanders Kittredge refers to himself as a gambler and an artist. He alternately speaks in praise of money and beauty, but he seems most enamored of his own reputation.

Write an essay on the topic of Flan's conflicted and ultimately incomplete soul. What is his primary objective throughout the play? Why is he so intent on finding Paul? How does he truly view himself, and how does that make him incompatible with Ouisa?

Essay Topic 3

The Kandinsky in the Kittredge condo is the central symbolic image of the play. Write an essay about the significance of this image. What theme do its opposite sides symbolize? How does the opposing control and wildness of the painting manifest itself in the action onstage? How do you interpret Paul's cryptic final words?

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