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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 is Nina writing a letter to at the beginning of Act 3?

2. How old is Evans in Act 2?

3. How long has Nina studied at the university?

4. Why does Nina say she must go away in Act 1?

5. What does Marsden compare Nina's eyes to in recollecting his visits with her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nina say to her father and Marsden regarding her last night with Gordon?

2. What does Gordon do with Darrell's birthday present? Why?

3. Why does Leeds believe that Nina hates him?

4. Who interrupts Gordon and Madeline in Act 9? What are this character's thoughts about them?

5. How does Marsden feel about Nina and Darrell in Act 5? What does he intend to do about it?

6. What do Darrell's thoughts reveal about his feelings toward Nina and their situation in Act 5?

7. What do Marsden's thoughts reveal about Gordon in Act 4? Why did he suggest Nina write a biography about him?

8. How does Nina regard God in Act 8?

9. What is Nina jealous of in Act 8? Who knows about this?

10. What is happening in the beginning of Act 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how foreshadowing is employed in Strange Interlude. What events in particular are foreshadowed? Who speaks this dialogue?

Essay Topic 2

What does "Oedipal Complex" mean? How does this theory play out thematically in Strange Interlude? Who most embodies this term?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss O'Neill's use of soliloquy in Strange Interlude. How was this portrayed on stage? What insights does this technique lend the audience as opposed to plays without employing this technique?

(see the answer keys)

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