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THETR 266:

The Father:

Homework Questions

Instructions:


Answer the following questions as thoughtfully and completely as you can in a couple of typed pages. Restate the questions at the beginning of your answers. Use one inch margins and double-space with 12 point font. Spell-check and proof-read your work. (Remember that titles of full-length plays are italicized.)


Papers may be printed on both sides. If more than one page is used, put your name on all sheets and staple the papers together in the upper left corner. (But try to keep it to two pages.)


Include a typical MLA header with the title of the assignment, the name of the class, your name, and the date at the upper left of the page.


Read the question carefully and be sure to answer all parts of a question completely. Support your assertions with quotes from the play, which may be cited in context, or other research, which should be cited in MLA style. Citatations in support of your answers should be from throughout the text, not just from the beginning. You're going to need to do a little research and support for these.


Questions:


1)     What is at the center of the struggle between the husband and wife in this play? (Not the result of it. What is this play about?) How is this similar to or in contrast with the characters in A Doll's House?


2)     Why is it important to the themes and action of the play that the father is a "man of science"? How could that be expressed in the set design and/or props of a production? (You may or may not have had a stagecraft or design class—just use your imagination here and think about how the live stage production could express this idea.)