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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 does Ann's love do for Lincoln?
(a) Her love makes him weak at the knees and fuzzy in his thoughts; he knows he can't make anything of himself.
(b) Her love inspires him to write great poetry.
(c) Her love makes him believe in God, believe that all things are possible, and he can do anything he wants.
(d) Her love makes him irritable because she is so needy.

2. Lincoln tells Josh Speed to give his letter for Mary Todd to Herndon to deliver. How does Josh respond?
(a) He gives the letter to Herndon.
(b) He throws the letter into the fire in the stove.
(c) He rips the letter into tiny pieces and throws them on the floor.
(d) He runs out the door with the letter.

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

4. In a poem that Lincoln reads in the first scene, what is it that the poet finds strange about people?
(a) They dance through life unaware of pleasure.
(b) They look forward to death, even when life is good.
(c) They are afraid to face death alone.
(d) They think of death as an awakening.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Does Lincoln agree, in Act 2, Scene 6, with Josh's suggestion about his mental health?

2. Where has Lincoln been, just before he arrives at the Edwards' home in Act 2, Scene 5?

3. What is the purpose of Edwards' visit to New Salem in Act 1, Scene 2?

4. What is Bowling Green's attitude toward the possibility of Lincoln marrying Ann Rutledge?

5. Who is with Lincoln at the beginning of Act 2, Scene 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. In Act 2, Scene 4, Lincoln has a law clerk who is something of a firebrand--he believes deeply in abolition and tries to get Lincoln involved in the public debate. What is Lincoln's response?

3. At the end of Act 2, Scene 4, Lincoln is about to attend an event that will change his life. Where is he going and what is going to happen there?

4. In Act 2, Scene 6, Lincoln decides to jilt Mary Todd on their wedding day. He plans to inform her in a long letter--a plan to which Josh Speed objects. Why does Speed object? In his mind, what does Lincoln's plan say about Lincoln as a man?

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

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

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

10. Josh Speed arrives to visit with Abe at the Greens' house. When Lincoln isn't there, Speed fills them in on Lincoln's activities in the State Assembly. What has Lincoln accomplished in the year since he's been elected?

(see the answer keys)

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