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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who have Bowling Green, Ninian Edwards and Josh Speed come to New Salem to see?
(a) Ann Rutledge.
(b) Abe Lincoln.
(c) Ben Mattling.
(d) Seth Gale

2. What is the "good joke" Lincoln plans to tell Bowling Green at the end of Act 1, Scene 2 in the Rutledge Tavern?
(a) That a chicken crossed the road to get to the other side.
(b) That Ann Rutledge has run off to marry Josh Speed.
(c) That he will be a candidate for the assembly of the State of Illinois.
(d) That Jack Armstrong, of the Clancy Groves boys, will run for the State Assembly.

3. How does Lincoln define his "own great duty?"
(a) He doesn't know what it is and he's tired of people nagging him about it.
(b) His duty is to mind his own business and he doesn't care what other people think.
(c) His duty is to defend the Constitution to the best of his understanding.
(d) He needs to go West and seize California from the Mexican government.

4. In Act 2, Scene 5, does Lincoln ask Mary Todd to marry him?
(a) No, but she expects he will ask that evening.
(b) Yes, but she says she can't quite decide.
(c) Yes, but Elizabeth's objections put the matter on hold.
(d) No, but she plans to pop the question that evening.

5. What are three things Lincoln likes about Ann Rutledge?
(a) She's good-looking, sensible and wants a large family.
(b) She's sensible, brave and good-looking.
(c) She's brave, pretty and a political asset.
(d) She's smart, pretty and owns property.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Billy Herndon urge Lincoln's friends to do, as Herndon leaves the office in Act 2, Scene 4?

2. What is Lincoln's attitude toward people?

3. What is Lincoln's attitude about people before he meets Ann Rutledge?

4. What does Lincoln's teacher suggest Lincoln do to improve his life?

5. What is the weather, as the Greens sit in their parlor, waiting for Abe to return from Ann Rutledge's home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Lincoln tell his friends in Act 2, Scene 4, in the discussion about his lack of political ambition and his unwillingness to speak publicly against slavery?

2. When Josh Speed burns Lincoln's letter to Mary Todd, Lincoln tells him the real reasons he doesn't want to go through with the marriage. What are his real reasons?

3. In Act 2, Scene 4, Lincoln continues to resist running for any office with more authority than the Electoral College. Why?

4. According to Act 1, Scene 3, what is the relationship of Lincoln to Nancy and Bowling Green?

5. How does Mary Todd characterize the man her sister married and the life they have together? And what is wrong with that life, according to Mary Todd?

6. What is Josh Speed's opinion of Lincoln's personality and prospects, now that Lincoln is in the State Assembly?

7. Why does Lincoln decide to run for office after talking to Ann, at the end of Act 1, Scene 2? Did she encourage him?

8. How does Nancy Green describe Lincoln's fear of falling in love in Act 1, Scene 3?

9. Describe the setting in Act 2, Scene 5 (the parlor of the Edwards' home) and explain what the setting is meant to tell the audience.

10. Act 1, Scene 2 portrays Lincoln's first step toward a political destiny. The audience (or reader) knows that Lincoln will become one of the country's great Presidents. What symbols does the author use in this scene to heighten that feeling of political destiny?

(see the answer keys)

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