Act I

Reading Check

1. “Because Daddy said we should be nice to them” (Act I)

2. “[S]pringing things on [him]” (Act I)

3. His anger (Act I)

4. History and Biology, respectively (Act I)

4. He was “buried, as many of us have been, and as many more of us will be, under the shrubbery around the chapel.” (Act I)

5. The stage direction is “Martha has changed her clothes and she looks, now, more comfortable and…and this is most important…most voluptuous.” (Act I)

Short Answer

1. The guests coming over are Nick and Honey. Martha describes Nick as 30-something, blond, “good-looking,” and in the math department, while Honey is a “mousey little type, without any hips, or anything.” (Act I)

2. Initially, George references an abstract painting on the wall (noted as such in the stage direction) as a “pictoral representation of Martha’s mind.” A few lines later, he refers to Martha’s drinking taste in alcohol as “pure and simple {…} for the pure and simple.” (Act I)

3. George reveals that Martha’s father is the president of the university at which George and Nick teach, a fact that Martha is particularly proud of. Nick is a newcomer to the faculty. (Act I)

4. George and Nick have a tenuous conversation, where Nick is clearly uncomfortable, and George continues to interrupt and pry. After snapping, Nick states that when his wife returns they will leave since George and his wife are having a quarrel, to which George states that they are “exercising […] merely walking what’s left of [their] wits.” (Act I)

5. Honey returns to the men reporting that Martha is changing her clothes and she had mentioned that they had 21-year-old son. George, who is shocked that his wife mentioned their son, tells the guests that “Martha hasn’t changed for me in years.” (Act I)

6. By the end of the act, Honey is delirious from the alcohol, Nick is passively participating in the conversation while Martha makes passes at him, and Martha and George are arguing playfully and reminiscing. Things turn more serious when Martha recalls that George was being groomed to be the president of the college, but her father was not very impressed with George and decided he would not be a good fit for the position. As a result, George begins to become emotional. (Act I)

Act II

Reading Check

1. Because she thought she was pregnant (Act II)

2. “[A] bean bag” (Act II)

3. To “plow” the faculty wives (Act II)

4. “Sexy over there” (Act II)

5. “Violence! Violence!” (Act II)

6. Total war (Act II)

Short Answer

1. As the two men sit together, George recalls the grandest day of his youth, where during the Prohibition era he attended a bar with his classmates in New York City, and one of them mispronounced “bourbon,” causing the whole bar to laugh and give the young men free drinks. Nick inquires about what happened to the boy, and George reveals that he accidentally killed his father in a driving accident and went to an insane asylum for 30 years. (Act II)

2. Nick shares that Honey, whom he has known since they were children, has a lot of money from her belated father, who accumulated it during his work as a priest. George shares that Martha’s father remarried after Martha’s mother died to an old wealthy woman who died soon after. George questions the validity of their stories, saying “maybe it isn’t true,” and Nick says, “and maybe it is.” (Act II)

3. As the group starts dancing, George begins to say flirtatious things to Honey and Nick and Martha begin to dance closely. Martha starts to tell Nick the story of George’s novel that her father did not allow him to publish. Nick realizes the story is about the young boy that George had told him about earlier. (Act II)

4. George begins to tell the group the story of his “second novel” as a part of his parlor game “Get the Guests,” which in reality is just the story that Nick had told him previously about his wife’s wealthy late father. Nick tries to silence George, and Honey is initially too inebriated to understand that the story is about her; when she realizes, she is hurt that Nick told them the story. Martha is disgusted with George and believes he has gone too far. (Act II)

5. After Martha and Nick start to become intimate, George knowingly re-enters the room, sits with his back to the couple, and announces he is going to read while Martha “entertains” Nick. Martha begins to kiss Nick, all the while instigating and dictating her actions to George. George does not react, which in turn makes Martha more furious. (Act II)

6. George accuses Honey of deliberately taking pills to avoid getting pregnant. He then decides to conjure a story to tell Martha that someone reported that their son was dead. (Act II)

Act III

Reading Check

1. A flop (Act III)

2. George (Act III)

3. “Truth and illusion” (Act III)

4. Marrow (Act III)

5. Latin (Act III)

Short Answer

1. When the doorbell rings, Martha demands that Nick answer it. He is shocked that he is being commanded to do this action, and she firmly states she expects him to do it, referring to him as the “houseboy.” (Act III)

2. Nick says, “Hell, I don’t know when you people are lying, or what.” This is in reference to Martha and George’s argument over whether or not the moon was in the sky. (Act III)

3. Much to Martha’s chagrin, George insists on talking about their son with Nick and Honey. He then passes the story over to Martha, who begins to tell the guests about their son’s birth and childhood. (Act III)

4. He shares that while Martha and Nick were upstairs, a Western Union telegram was delivered announcing that their son is dead. When Martha reacts in hysterics, George replies that he can “kill” him because she “broke [their] rule” of mentioning him in front of other people. (Act III)

5. After George announces the “death” of their son, the group agrees it is time for Nick and Honey to leave. George then begins to sing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to which Martha replies “I…am…George.” (Act III)