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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Act 1, Scene 3.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Lincoln's attitude toward people?
(a) He likes them one-to-one, but crowds scare him.
(b) He is afraid of them, unless he has known them all his life.
(c) He loves being in a crowd, but feels anxious one-to-one.
(d) He dislikes people because of their inhumanity.

2. What is Josh Speed's understanding of Lincoln's personality?
(a) Lincoln is a great fool with an odd understanding of the law.
(b) Lincoln is a hopeless hypochondriac who reads Hamlet.
(c) Lincoln is obsessive-compulsive and can't stop counting fence posts.
(d) Lincoln can't control his manic-depressive episodes and constantly makes a fool of himself.

3. What is the subject of the speech Lincoln is studying in the first scene?
(a) South Carolina's decision to break away from North Carolina; the speaker approves.
(b) The right of states to secede from the Union; the speaker approves.
(c) The upcoming union of North and South; the speaker objects.
(d) The right of states to secede from the Union; the speaker objects.

4. What is Lincoln's attitude about people before he meets Ann Rutledge?
(a) The best thing is to take a vow of silence in order not to be bothered by fools.
(b) It's best not to get too close to people; they see the insanity behind the surface.
(c) Getting close to others is the best antidote in the world to loneliness.
(d) All people are to a degree insane, but that shouldn't stop one from getting close to them.

5. What is Lincoln studying in the opening scene?
(a) The plays of Shakespeare.
(b) Punctuation marks.
(c) The moods of the English language.
(d) The moods of a woman he would like to court.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who gave the speech that Lincoln's teacher has him read?

2. What is the "good joke" Lincoln plans to tell Bowling Green at the end of Act 1, Scene 2 in the Rutledge Tavern?

3. Who have Bowling Green, Ninian Edwards and Josh Speed come to New Salem to see?

4. What are the Bowling Greens reading when Josh Speed arrives at their home in Act 1, Scene 3?

5. How does Act 1, Scene 3, in which Ann Rutledge dies, come to an end?

(see the answer key)

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