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. What does Claire say of Sunshine Square in Act 3, Scene 1?

2. Who enters to speak to Claire in Act 3, Scene 1?

3. How does the author say the characters speak in the final scene in the postscript?

4. That author claims in the postscript that "nothing could harm this comedy with a tragic end more than ______."

5. What has Ill's son bought in Act 3, Scene 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the vote held twice in the final scene? Why do the reporters leave?

2. How did the child of Ill and Claire die?

3. How does Durrenmatt say he relates to the characters of the play in the postscript?

4. What does the mayor tell Ill in Act 3, Scene 2 when offering him the gun?

5. What does Claire reveal to her guests in Act 3, Scene 1 regarding Guellen?

6. What is absurd about the proposition made to Claire in Act 3, Scene 1?

7. What does Ill thank Claire for in Act 3, Scene 3?

8. Who has arrived in the town in Act 3, Scene 2? What is the townspeople's concern about this?

9. Where does Ill meet Claire in Act 3, Scene 3? Who is she with?

10. Who begins to tell the truth to the press in Act 3, Scene 2? Who stops him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do the townspeople sing in the final chorus of the play? How does this represent the author's views of poverty in comparison to greed?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the town of Guellen. What does the exposition tell us of the town's circumstances?

Essay Topic 3

Examine and analyze the character of Ill. How does this character come to embody a tragic hero? What transition does he make in the course of the play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 845 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample