CLEP Humanities : Analyzing the Content of Twentieth-Century Drama
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities
All CLEP Humanities Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Drama
Willy Loman is the main character of the play __________.
Death of a Salesman
Mourning Becomes Electra
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Skin of Our Teeth
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1949. Its protagonist, Willy Loman, became a classic character of the American theater, thanks to Miller's story about the aged salesman and his fraught relationships with his family. Loman's struggles with work and disappointment in his sons provide the emotional depth for the character.
Example Question #5 : Drama
Which play allegorizes the "Red Scare" of the 1950s by telling the story of the Salem witch trials of the 1690s?
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Devils
The Crucible
Waiting for Lefty
A View From the Bridge
The Crucible
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953, at the height of the second "Red Scare," when figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy were investigating Communism in America and targeting artists. Miller chose the Salem witch trials as a similar moment in American history when wild accusations generated by fear were prevalent. Miller himself was cited for "contempt of Congress" for refusing to name people he had seen at meetings of the Communist Party.
Example Question #6 : Drama
What is the common English title of the French play about three people stuck in a room from which they cannot escape?
The Possessed
No Exit
The Misanthrope
Waiting for Godot
Act Without Words
No Exit
Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit takes place entirely in one room, featuring three people who cannot leave. Reflecting some of Sartre's philosophy, the characters slowly realize that they are dead and in hell. The play closes with the famous final line "Hell is other people."
All CLEP Humanities Resources
