What are the purposes of a prologue in a play? (multiple choice)

a) to provide information about the inner thoughts and feelings of a character.
b) to set the mood and tone of the play and provide background information.
c) to provide information about how the stage should be set and what props are needed.
d) to give some insight into the relationships amoung different characters
e) to provide a hint to the audience about what will happen later in the play.

B is the closest to the right answer.

Explanation:

The purpose of the prologue is to establish the setting and connect the earlier story to the main story (give background information).  So in essence, yes, it could give some insight into the relationships among different characters, but the main purpose is to provide background information.  

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)