George Ryga – The Ecstasy of Rita Joe – Exam Based MCQs
1. The Ecstasy of Rita Joe is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Tomson Highway
B) Michel Tremblay
C) George Ryga
D) Robertson Davies
Ans: C) George Ryga
2. The play premiered at the Vancouver Playhouse on: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) November 23, 1967
B) July 1, 1957
C) March 15, 1975
D) January 26, 1963
Ans: A) November 23, 1967
3. The Ecstasy of Rita Joe is a play in: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Five acts
B) Three acts
C) One act
D) Two acts
Ans: D) Two acts
4. The central dramatic setting repeatedly returns to a: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Ship deck
B) Courtroom / trial
C) Battlefield
D) Royal palace
Ans: B) Courtroom / trial
5. Rita Joe is primarily portrayed as a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Wealthy socialite
B) Political leader
C) Young Indigenous woman facing systemic oppression in the city
D) Famous musician
Ans: C) Young Indigenous woman facing systemic oppression in the city
6. One notable technique in the play is its: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Strict chronological narration
B) Pure documentary realism only
C) Classical unities only
D) Non-linear structure with flashbacks/montage
Ans: D) Non-linear structure with flashbacks/montage
7. Rita Joe is tried in court for offences including: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Vagrancy and prostitution (charges used against her)
B) Piracy
C) Treason
D) Witchcraft
Ans: A) Vagrancy and prostitution (charges used against her)
8. The figure who represents the legal system in the play is the: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Mayor
B) Magistrate
C) King
D) Colonel
Ans: B) Magistrate
9. Jaimie Paul in the play is best described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A rich businessman
B) A judge’s assistant
C) Rita’s Indigenous friend/companion in the city
D) A school principal
Ans: C) Rita’s Indigenous friend/companion in the city
10. David Joe is mainly identified as Rita Joe’s: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Lawyer
B) Brother
C) Teacher
D) Father
Ans: D) Father
11. A recurring institution criticized in the play is the: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Police and court system
B) Space agency
C) Royal family
D) Cricket board
Ans: A) Police and court system
12. The play is often cited as historically important because it was among early Canadian stage works to address: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Medieval chivalry
B) Space exploration
C) Indigenous issues and systemic racism
D) Elizabethan theatre rules
Ans: C) Indigenous issues and systemic racism
13. The play later opened the studio theatre of the National Arts Centre in: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) 1965
B) 1969
C) 1979
D) 1959
Ans: B) 1969
14. A ballet adaptation was choreographed by: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Martha Graham
B) Marius Petipa
C) Merce Cunningham
D) Norbert Vesak
Ans: D) Norbert Vesak
15. The ballet adaptation was first performed by the: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Royal Winnipeg Ballet
B) Bolshoi Ballet
C) Paris Opera Ballet
D) American Ballet Theatre
Ans: A) Royal Winnipeg Ballet
16. The original Vancouver Playhouse production was directed by: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Peter Brook
B) Trevor Nunn
C) George Bloomfield
D) Joan Littlewood
Ans: C) George Bloomfield
17. The narrative of the play is best described as: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) A single monologue with no scene changes
B) Courtroom scenes interwoven with memories/flashbacks
C) A travelogue across Europe
D) A detective investigation only
Ans: B) Courtroom scenes interwoven with memories/flashbacks
18. The character “Singer” is often used as: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) A police inspector only
B) A lawyer for Rita
C) A comic clown
D) A chorus/alter-ego commenting on the action
Ans: D) A chorus/alter-ego commenting on the action
19. A major theme highlighted by the play is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Marginalization of Indigenous people in urban white society
B) The glory of empire-building
C) Romantic comedy in a palace
D) Space-time paradox
Ans: A) Marginalization of Indigenous people in urban white society
20. The play belongs mainly to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Greek tragedy
B) Restoration comedy
C) Modern Canadian / Indigenous-focused social drama
D) Medieval morality play
Ans: C) Modern Canadian / Indigenous-focused social drama
21. The Policeman in the play mainly represents: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Spiritual healing
B) Institutional control and harassment
C) Agricultural reform
D) Artistic freedom
Ans: B) Institutional control and harassment
22. Miss Donohue is generally presented as a figure connected with: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Royal diplomacy
B) A circus troupe
C) A war camp
D) School/education and “reform” efforts
Ans: D) School/education and “reform” efforts
23. Mr. Homer is often linked with: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) City exploitation/employment power over Rita
B) Village priesthood
C) Parliament speeches
D) Sports coaching
Ans: A) City exploitation/employment power over Rita
24. Father Andrew in the play is associated with: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) The army
B) Railway planning
C) The church / religious institution
D) A circus ring
Ans: C) The church / religious institution
25. The play’s structure best supports the idea of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A simple love story
B) Trauma/memory returning in fragments during the trial
C) A heroic epic journey
D) A detective’s logical case file
Ans: B) Trauma/memory returning in fragments during the trial
26. The play is widely studied as a text of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Romanticism
B) Symbolist poetry
C) Neo-classicism
D) Social criticism of racism and injustice
Ans: D) Social criticism of racism and injustice
27. The title “ecstasy” most strongly suggests: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) An intense emotional/spiritual journey amid suffering
B) A comedy of manners
C) A sports victory celebration
D) A royal coronation
Ans: A) An intense emotional/spiritual journey amid suffering
28. The play’s courtroom scenes mainly function to show: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Efficient justice for all
B) A wedding arrangement
C) How the system judges without understanding Rita’s life
D) A political election
Ans: C) How the system judges without understanding Rita’s life
29. The play is significant in Canadian theatre history largely because it: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Revived Greek chorus tradition only
B) Brought Indigenous realities to major stage attention early on
C) Was written in Old English
D) Won an Olympic medal
Ans: B) Brought Indigenous realities to major stage attention early on
30. The play was revived by Alberta Theatre Projects in: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) 1956
B) 1989
C) 1963
D) 1976
Ans: D) 1976
31. The play’s action mainly highlights which social reality? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Racism + gendered violence experienced by Indigenous women
B) Royal inheritance laws
C) Medieval feudalism
D) Science fiction future wars
Ans: A) Racism + gendered violence experienced by Indigenous women
32. The play uses songs/tableaux/montage mainly to: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Teach grammar rules
B) Create a courtroom documentary
C) Present a fragmented, theatrical rendering of memory and oppression
D) Imitate Shakespeare’s blank verse only
Ans: C) Present a fragmented, theatrical rendering of memory and oppression
33. In many readings, Rita Joe becomes a symbol of: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Colonial victory
B) Indigenous dispossession and urban marginalization
C) Royal luxury
D) Scientific progress
Ans: B) Indigenous dispossession and urban marginalization
34. The play was also produced in Washington, DC in: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) 1962
B) 1980
C) 1959
D) 1973
Ans: D) 1973
35. A major contrast the play emphasizes is between: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Reservation life and harsh city life
B) Space station and earth
C) Palace and battlefield
D) School and university
Ans: A) Reservation life and harsh city life
36. The Magistrate often “claims” to be: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A revolutionary
B) An artist
C) Stern but fair
D) A mystic healer
Ans: C) Stern but fair
37. The play is best categorized under: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Jacobean tragedy
B) Canadian drama / postcolonial & Indigenous studies
C) Victorian novel
D) Absurdist French farce only
Ans: B) Canadian drama / postcolonial & Indigenous studies
38. The play’s emphasis on “trial” most strongly suggests: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) A sports match
B) A wedding ritual
C) A hunting expedition
D) Society putting an Indigenous life on judgment
Ans: D) Society putting an Indigenous life on judgment
39. The play commonly uses which technique to show Rita’s past? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Flashbacks
B) Only footnotes
C) Only stage directions
D) Only letters
Ans: A) Flashbacks
40. The play’s primary emotional effect is often described as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Pure laughter
B) Romantic sweetness
C) Tragic indictment of injustice
D) Adventure thrill only
Ans: C) Tragic indictment of injustice
41. A well-known feature of the play is its use of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Only realistic kitchen scenes
B) Montage/tableaux and rapid shifts of scene
C) Only heroic couplets
D) Only epistolary form
Ans: B) Montage/tableaux and rapid shifts of scene
42. The 1971 ballet adaptation was first performed in Ottawa on: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) May 5, 1967
B) November 23, 1969
C) January 1, 1976
D) July 27, 1971
Ans: D) July 27, 1971
43. The play powerfully critiques the idea of “help” that becomes: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Paternalistic and controlling
B) Completely absent always
C) Purely magical
D) Only romantic
Ans: A) Paternalistic and controlling
44. The play’s dramatic movement is driven mainly by: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) A treasure hunt
B) A royal rivalry
C) Rita’s struggle against institutions and memories
D) A sports tournament
Ans: C) Rita’s struggle against institutions and memories
45. The play is often taught in courses on: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Metaphysical poets only
B) Postcolonial / Indigenous literature and Canadian theatre
C) Anglo-Saxon riddles
D) Classical Latin epics
Ans: B) Postcolonial / Indigenous literature and Canadian theatre
46. One of the play’s key dramatic ironies is that “justice” is: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Perfect and unbiased
B) Always funny
C) Always absent in every scene
D) Claimed but undermined by prejudice
Ans: D) Claimed but undermined by prejudice
47. The play strongly reflects the theme of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Cultural erasure and identity struggle
B) Scientific invention
C) Pastoral romance
D) Gothic supernatural horror
Ans: A) Cultural erasure and identity struggle
48. The play’s criticism is directed mostly at: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Indigenous culture itself
B) Nature and climate
C) Urban white society’s institutions and attitudes
D) Ancient Greek gods
Ans: C) Urban white society’s institutions and attitudes
49. Which is TRUE about The Ecstasy of Rita Joe? (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) It is set in ancient Rome
B) It is a modern Canadian drama centered on an Indigenous woman’s trial
C) It is a Shakespearean history play
D) It is an epic poem
Ans: B) It is a modern Canadian drama centered on an Indigenous woman’s trial
50. The play’s overall form can best be described as: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) A strict classical tragedy with unities
B) A detective thriller
C) A romantic comedy
D) A socially engaged, episodic/fragmented modern drama
Ans: D) A socially engaged, episodic/fragmented modern drama
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