Dr. Prinsky
Humn. 2002: World Humanities II
Test on Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (Yarmolinsky Translation)
1. Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard is an example of what national literature? (a) French (b) German (c) Russian (d) Danish
2. The play was produced in: (a) 1784 (b) 1824 (c) 1864 (d) 1904
3. According to the introduction to Chekhov by René Wellek in NAWM, Chekhov's attitude in his works, including Cherry Orchard, is usually: (a) Romantic (b) cosmic (c) skeptical (d) religious
4. According to Wellek, Chekhov consistently depicts a society that is: (a) on the brink of ending (b) very slowly improving (c) surprisingly static and motionless (d) riddled with rules and regulations
5. As explained by Wellek, Chekhov's attitude toward the Moscow Art Theater's staging of the play was mainly: (a) positive (b) neutral (c) negative (d) mixed
6. Overall, the play could be said to incorporate components, either through use or through criticism, of which of the following currents: (a) Romanticism (b) Impressionism (c) Realism (d) Symbolism (e) all of the foregoing
7. The symbolism of the play's opening (Act I) as well as closing (Act IV) in a nursery is that: (a) ironically, a way of life is dying (b) most of the main characters are young--the motif of youth (c) Varya, the daughter, is about to give birth (the rebirth and continuation of the aristocratic way of life) (d) ironically, all Mme. Ranevskaya's children died in childbirth (life's inevitable suffering)
8. In the recollection of Lopahin of how, after an incident with his father, he was addressed and treated by Lubov Andreyevna (I.S5; Act 1, speech 5), the relations between the social classes are portrayed (without the speaker being fully aware) as: (a) positive (b) negative (c) both positive and negative (d) strictly legal
9. In the recollection of Lopahin of how, after an incident with his father, he was addressed and treated by Lubov Andreyevna (I.S5; Act 1, speech 5), is initiated the motif in the play of the union of Lopahin and: (a) Varya (b) Anya (c) Dunyahsha (d) Charlotta
10. As noted in archetypal literary criticism, a key component of which literary genre is its ending with a marriage: (a) tragedy (b) satire (c) epic (d) comedy
11. With regard to the immediately preceding question, The Cherry Orchard should, in terms of archetypal literary criticism, definitely not be classified in literary genre as: (a) tragedy (b) satire (c) epic (d) comedy
12. With reference to what Lopahin does at the end of the play, concerning the cherry-orchard estate, what he tells Dunyasha about her manner of dress (I.S9; “You’re too soft . . .”) exemplifies: (a) his own self knowledge (b) dramatic irony (c) a religious orientation (d) epic invocation
13. Yepihodov's ("Two and twenty troubles") shoes, his management of the rose bouquet, and his action with a chair (all in Act I) help convey the idea of: (a) the rise of the lower class (b) Chekhov's aristocratic suspicion of the middle class (c) the Realist's concern with the physical, material world (d) the Romantic's yearning to escape from life's pain and problems
14. Yepihodov’s words “Our climate does not activate properly” (I.S13) suggests what trait of his that extends from material objects to language: (a) clumsiness (b) dexterity (c) reverence (d) thriftiness
15. Madame Ranevskaya’s description of Varya (“Varya’s just the same as ever . . . nun“ [I.S27]) contains dramatic irony relative to: (a) Varya’s feelings toward Trofimov (b) Lopahin’s addresses to “Aurelia” in his misquotations from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (II.S139, II.S141) (c) the outcome of plans for Varya’s marriage (d) b & c
16. The repeated references to Anya as the family pet ("precious," "a darling," etc.) that begin in Act I and recur throughout the play suggest all the following except which one? (a) the psychological shifting or compensation in response to the young Grischa's death (b) how Anya has been turned conceited and spoiled by all the attention (c) the irony of her love being rebuffed by Trofimov (the student), despite her being so "precious" (d) the loving nature of the Ranevskaya-Gayev family
17. The prop that is repeatedly associated with Varya, beginning in the stage directions immediately following Dunyasha’s “‘Don’t you wake him,’ she said” (I.S41), suggests all of the following ideas, several of them applicable to Varya: (a) maturity (b) responsibility (c) inquisitiveness (d) ownership
18. The prop -- or aspect of costume -- associated with Anya that is called attention to by Varya, Anya’s brooch (in Varya’s speech beginning “Oh, I don’t think anything will ever come of it” [I.S61]), symbolically suggests or connects to all of the following (some notions perhaps ironically), except which one: (a) the cherry orchard (b) productivity (c) sweetness (d) religiosity
19. Beginning in Act I and continuing throughout the play is the motif of Gayev's recurrent reference to billiards, which suggests the idea of: (a) escape in a game into an unreal, artificial miniature "world" (b) Gayev's refusal, like so many of the nobility, to ever take a job (c) the inevitability of physical violence in the real world (d) the rise of crime and criminals in the new society
20. The beverage that is repeatedly referred to in Act I, and which Madame Ranevskaya says “I’ve got used to” (I.S95) -- cf. I.S97 (“Can it really be”), I.S159 (“I’ve had my”) -- suggests Madame Ranevskaya’s: (a) patriotic insistence on native things (b) obsession with escape through indulgence in alcohol (c) adoption of foreign things (d) newly acquired practical culinary skills
21. The speeches of Madame Ranevskaya (I.S103; beginning “I can’t sit still”) and Gayev (I.S130; beginning “That’s something . . . . Dear, honored”) evoke: (a) the nonverbal “language” of action (b) the nonverbal “language” of props (c) the nonverbal “language” of setting (d) the nonverbal “languages” of action, props, and setting
22. What is suggested in symbolism or about character traits from the material referred to in the immediately preceding question is all of the following except which one: (a) immaturity (b) acquisitiveness (c) nostalgia (d) affectionate nature
23. What Pischik does with Madame Ranevskaya’s pills (I.S135-139; “Perhaps you’ll take your”), which echoes Madame Ranevskaya’s handling of her telegrams (I.S126-127; starting with “There are two telegrams for you”), suggests: (a) thoughtful restraint (b) tender self-sacrifice (c) immature impulsiveness (d) innate vengefulness
24. The character most concerned with clock time (shown by repeated glances at a watch) from Act I onwards (especially again in Act IV) is, in accord with his or her personality and views: (a) Mme. Lubov Ranevskaya (b) Yermolay Lopahin (c) Pyotr (Petya) Trofimov (d) Dunyasha the maid
25. The footman, Yasha, a representative of the New Man, is implicitly condemned by his words about and treatment of: (a) the natural world (b) money (c) Mme. Ranevskaya (d) his mother
26. The depiction of most of the characters by a single main vivid feature (or a couple of such features), along with the use of lighting in Act II (which moves from afternoon to dusk), both suggest the visual art of the: (a) Renaissance period (b) Neoclassicism (c) Impressionism (d) Cubism
27. In Act II, the most discordant, anomalous, or antithetical note is struck in the background set (the language of setting) by which detail specified by Chekhov's stage directions for the set at the beginning of the act: (a) a little chapel (b) the road to the Gayev estate (c) poplars bordering the cherry orchard (d) telegraph poles
28. The item referred to in the immediately preceding question suggests the subject so often recurrent in Acts 1 and 2, through the remainder of the play, of: (a) ownership (b) communication (c) education by travel (d) religious salvation
29. The large slabs specified in Chekhov’s stage directions for the set at the beginning of the act obliquely symbolize: (a) the fate of the cherry orchard (b) Grischa (c) the fate of Firs and his generation (d) all of the foregoing
30. Yepihodov in his first words at the beginning of Act II brings into the play the element of: (a) music (b) painting (c) sculpture (d) architecture
31. Yepihodov’s first words at the beginning of Act II suggest which manner of living or way of life: (a) political (b) confrontation (c) religious (d) withdrawal
32. Charlotta's opening speech in Act II, as well as her similar comments later, helps convey the theme of human: (a) isolation (b) greed (c) common sense (d) ambition
33. The long speech of social criticism by "Petya" Trofimov in Act II about the necessity of work is ironic because: (a) the estate's animals are in fact overworked (b) the peasants are lazier than the gentry (c) he doesn't do any himself (d) work cannot overcome the tragedies of life
34. Lopahin's misquotation from and allusion to Hamlet ("Aurelia, get thee to a nunnery go . . . ") help explain that his failure to connect with the woman the Gayev-Ranevskaya family wish is a result, at least partly, of his: (a) lack of formal education (b) resentment of plotting by the gentry (c) mild incipient madness (d) lack of Christian charity
35. A key symbolic sound effect at the end of Act II, as well as Act IV, and discussed by Wellek, is a: (a) guitar chord (b) gun shot (c) distant thunderclap (d) snapping string
36. The sound effect referred to in the immediately preceding question probably has as one meaning: (a) the need for a people’s political revolution (b) the drastic passing of a generation and way of life (c) the life-threatening consequences of destroying the ecology (d) the need for music’s power to soothe animal aggression
37. An indoor theater would be especially helpful in Act II because of the repeated references in the act to: (a) bird sounds (b) fading light (c) tender romance (d) temperature change
38. How Chekhov’s stage directions specify the entrance of the various characters at the beginning of Act III (beginning with “Promenade”) has the subliminal symbolism in the nonverbal “language” of action of all of the following except which one: (a) romantic love (b) isolation vs. communion (c) morality vs. immorality (d) marriage
39. In Act III (the ball), Charlotta's three-part "show" relates to all the following themes except which one? (a) isolation or failure of communication (b) the false hope of Gayev and Lubov for something to turn up to save the estate (c) illusions and delusions of most of the characters in the play (d) the new urbanization of the changing times
40. A physical prop that appears on stage (speech 11) in Act III, that has also appeared on stage in Act II (e.g., II.S29-37), is: (a) drinking glasses (b) playing cards (c) flower bouquets (d) monetary currency
41. The prop referred to in the immediately preceding question relates to Chekhov’s insistence on recognizing the importance of: (a) game-playing in life (b) economics (c) pleasure (d) conservation of natural beauty
42. Reacting angrily to Lubov's truth-telling during the ball (Act III), Trofimov leaves, making an exit that: (a) satirizes Romanticism (b) criticizes revolutionaries (c) ennobles the peasants (d) brings out the play's tearful nature
43. The very ball itself in Act III helps symbolize: (a) society's harmony (b) love's ultimate triumph (c) the gentry's delusions (d) the distance the upperclass keeps from lowerclass
44. Firs’ “stick” (SD [Stage Directions 73; just after Madame Ranevskaya’s “Petya, you pure soul” [III.S73]) exemplifies: (a) the nonverbal “language” of action (b) the nonverbal “language” of props (c) the nonverbal “language” of setting (d) the nonverbal “language” of sound effects
45. The subliminal symbolism conveyed by what is referred to in the immediately preceding question is all of the following except which one: (a) isolation vs. communion (b) the bygone era of serfdom (c) the older generation vs. the younger generation (d) violence vs. nonviolence
46. The accidental striking of Lopahin (Act III), mistaken for Yepihodov by a particular character, may be more than accidental by the person doing the striking, representing: (a) desire to become one of the nouveau riche (b) latent hostility from frustration (c) innate criminal tendencies (d) emulation of political leaders’ aggressiveness
47. The stopping and then starting of the music in Act III (speeches 134, 137) helps impart a subliminal auditory symbolism to the music of: (a) ineptitude of Russian rural musicians (b) failure to keep social services (e.g., trains) orderly (c) transition from one era to another (d) susceptibility of the Russian commoner (including musicians) to alcohol
48. From the perspective of archetypal criticism, the play could be classified as a "failed comedy" due to its lack of which of the following in Act IV: (a) peripeteia (b) gamos and komos (c) epitasis and protasis (d) a clownish, rustic character
49. The prop or props most strongly connected in symbolism to what is referred to in the immediately preceding question is/are: (a) pocket watch and hat-box (b) overcoats and galoshes (c) billiard table and luggage (d) champagne bottle and champagne glasses
50. Probably the most striking, in more than one sense, repeated symbolic sound effect in Act IV comes from: (a) violins (b) axes (c) gunshots (d) jingling keys
51. The repeated line or motif Chekhov gives Madame Ranevskaya in Act IV -- “How much these . . . “ (speech 53), “It seems as though I’d never before seen . . . “ (speech 105), “One last look at . . . “ (speech 127) -- evoking: (a) the nonverbal “language” of action (b) the nonverbal “language” of props (c) the nonverbal “language” of setting (d) the nonverbal “languages” of action and setting
52. Part of the evocation referred to in the immediately preceding question comes from the grammatical element of the: (a) proper noun (b) subordinate conjunction (c) demonstrative pronoun (d) intransitive verb
53. The subliminal symbolism of what is referred to in the two immediately preceding questions is all of the following except which one: (a) religiosity (b) loss (c) childhood memories (d) fondness
54. Charlotta's ventriloquism, with her specific ventriloquist's doll, in Act IV probably symbolizes all the following except which one: (a) rebirth (b) isolation vs. communication (c) childhood (d) the power of money
55. The stage business involving (in one episode) Varya, Lopahin, and an umbrella in Act IV probably symbolizes: (a) their latent sexual attraction (b) her maternal feelings toward him (c) his latent guilt toward her and her family (d) the end of the czar's reign/rain
56. In Act IV, Mme. Ranevskaya symbolically reveals how she has been absorbed into the practical world of Lopahin by a: (a) billiard ball (b) watch (c) pair of galoshes (d) samovar
57. The skills of Jews in Russia, as referred to repeatedly in the play, point primarily to: (a) music (b) visual art (c) literature (d) politics (e) science