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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. What characteristics make Mary Todd a good catch in the eyes of most people?
(a) She speaks French, cooks Italian and comes from a line of English royalty.
(b) She's highly educated and would make a good Secretary of State.
(c) She is exceedingly beautiful and has a shy, retiring demeanor.
(d) She's smart, cultivated and the daughter of a bank president.

2. What are the five indicative moods, as Lincoln knows them?
(a) Indicative, Imperative, Potential, Subjunctive and Infinitive.
(b) Meditative, Imperial, Possible, Subjective and Infinite.
(c) Sad, Glad, Mad, Grumpy and Giddy.
(d) Commanding, Questioning, Doubting, Inferior and Decisive.

3. What last ditch effort does Mary Todd's sister make to prevent a proposal from Lincoln toward the end of Act 2, Scene 5?
(a) She produces a fan and uses it to flirt with Lincoln, to show he wouldn't be a faithful husband.
(b) She begs Mary to put the children to bed.
(c) She begins yelling at her sister, causing Ninian to slap her and drag her from the room.
(d) She spills a pot of hot tea on Lincoln's lap.

4. What does Mary Todd's sister predict if she marries Lincoln?
(a) A glittering life in the nation's capital, dancing with elegant Europeans.
(b) A life in a miserable cabin, without servants and without decent clothing.
(c) A wanderer's life, as Lincoln can't seem to hold a decent job.
(d) A life in a quaint cabin, stitching buckskin clothing and raising a passel of children.

5. Who is with Lincoln at the beginning of Act 2, Scene 6?
(a) Josh Speed.
(b) Ann Rutledge.
(c) Seth Gale.
(d) Bowling Green.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Lincoln's initial response to the idea of running for office?

2. How does Mary Todd respond to Lincoln's proposal at the end of Act 2, Scene 5?

3. In Act 2, Scene 5, Lincoln mentions a woman "foxing" his pants--what does that mean?

4. In Act 2, Scene 4, why is Billy Herndon disappointed with Lincoln?

5. What are three things Lincoln likes about Ann Rutledge?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. How desperate is Lincoln and what is the event that seems to have caused his emotional outbreak?

4. Lincoln tries to draw Ann out about her sadness, but she resists. However, he continues. Does this change Ann's perception of Lincoln?

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

6. What is Webster reacting or responding to in the speech Lincoln reads in Act 1, Scene 1?

7. Nancy Green and Bowling Green have a disagreement about whether Ann Rutledge is good for Lincoln. What are their respective opinions?

8. The informal committee that came to recruit Lincoln to run for State Assembly in Act 1, Scene 2 has a larger political purpose in mind. What is it?

9. What is Ann Rutledge's mood when she enters to clear the glasses of the men who have left the tavern in Act 1, Scene 2? Why is she feeling that way?

10. 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.

(see the answer keys)

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