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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What information does the Detective bring to Flan and Ouisa in this section?

2. Which of the following is not among the "charges" the Kittredges and Larkin list to the Detective regarding Paul?

3. What news does Tess blurt out to Ouisa in this section?

4. How much money does Paul request from Rick and Elizabeth?

5. How much money did Kitty give Paul?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul has a strange relationship with sex. Though clearly a homosexual by orientation, he does not pursue sex in the same way other people do. Write an essay on Paul's relationship with sex in two parts:

Part 1) Why does Paul have sex with Rick after their dance in the Rainbow room? Is sex a pleasure for him or a weapon? Does Paul think about how the experience will affect Rick when he propositions him?

Part 2) How does Paul explain his decision to bring a prostitute to the Kittredges' condo? Do either Ouisa or Flan understand his reasoning? How does the reasoning also explain why he will not have sex in prison?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Paul. Focus on his objectives as a character. What does he want out of life, and why does lying his way into affluent homes and assuming a false identity help achieve it? What do the Kittredges offer him that the other families do not? Do you think that his objective reveals some psychological scar?

Essay Topic 3

The idea of the imagination resonates strongly throughout he play, beginning of course with Paul's "thesis" in the first passages. Write an essay on Guare's understanding of imagination in three parts:

Part 1) Compare Paul's conception of the purpose of imagination in his thesis with what he perceives to be society's new definition of imagination. How are they different? Why does Paul consider the latter reductive?

Paul 2) How doe Ouisa, Flan and Geoffrey react to Paul's thesis on imagination? When Paul appears in Ouisa's imagination later in the play, how does he amend his notion of imagination?

Paul 3) How is what Paul actually does to the families of the play the opposite of his sense of imagination? Is he chipping away at his own personality living in a state of constant deception?

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This section contains 431 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample