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. Why does Vivian go into the hospital at the beginning of Scene 8?

2. What kind of cancer does Vivian have?

3. How long does Vivian say the attention of chemotherapy was flattering?

4. What year dates Gardner's source materials?

5. In what class did Vivian write the paper she has to do over?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Vivian describe the introduction her colleagues would write?

2. How does Vivian link what she learned in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and her career work in Donne?

3. What does Vivian think the process would be if she barfed her brains out?

4. When and how did Vivian discover words would be her life's work?

5. How does Vivian's father teach her the word “soporific?”

6. What does Vivian say the audience will see in “this dramatic structure?” What does Vivian want to document?

7. Describe Vivian as she appears at the opening of the play.

8. What is the standard greeting where Vivian is? What is her standard response?

9. Why does Jason suddenly stop as he is talking about Vivian during the examination?

10. How does Vivian say she would have preferred her play be cast? Why can it not be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define irony. Give at least two examples of irony in Wit. What types of irony are each of these examples? How do you know these instances are ironic? What do these instances of irony do to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Define motif. Identify one motif used throughout Wit. How is this motif used throughout the play? How does this motif affect Vivian? How does this motif affect the overall story?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the controversy surrounding Vivian's end-of-life wishes. What are Vivian's wishes? How does each of her caregivers feel about these wishes? Are Vivian's wishes honored at the end of the play? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 663 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample