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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 are the other reporters doing in the background as McCue is talking with the woman in Act 1, Part 1?
(a) Laughing at him.
(b) Imitating him.
(c) Trying to get his attention.
(d) Making crude comments.

2. What does the appearance of Peggy and her mother hint of for Hildy?
(a) The deception he is carrying.
(b) The possible negative aspects of married life.
(c) The possible positive aspects of married life.
(d) The other reporters were right.

3. Who is Hildy waiting for in the press room at the end of Act 2, Part 1?
(a) The courier.
(b) The sheriff.
(c) Burns.
(d) Williams.

4. Why does Williams think the Mayor and city are trying to hang him?
(a) Because he is a radical.
(b) Because he did not vote for the Mayor.
(c) Because he didn't have enough money to pay a traffic ticket.
(d) Because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

5. According to Bensinger, what won't the Sheriff change about the execution of Williams?
(a) The time.
(b) The decision to make it a public event.
(c) The judgment.
(d) The rule banning all press.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Hildy's response to the fire show in Act 1, Part 3, that some view as contradictory to his other behavior in the play so far?

2. What is Jennie cleaning up at the beginning of Act 2, Part 1?

3. Who was the only person to defend Williams at his trial?

4. What pace does the play set during Act 1, Part 1, particularly where the dialogue is concerned?

5. What do the reporters tease Diamond Louie about in Act 1, Part 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Mrs. Schlosser, what rule does she break in Act 1, Part 2, and what does it say about the reporters in general?

2. What is surprising about the way Burns reacts to being arrested in the beginning of Act 3, Part 3, and why do you think he reacts that way?

3. What do the other reporters illustrate when they urge the sheriff to interrogate Hildy in the beginning of Act 3, Part 2, and how does it contrast with what Hildy is doing?

4. How does Mollie react to the reporters and what does Murphy do to cause her to leave in Act 1, Part 4?

5. How does Peggy react to Hildy's news in the beginning of Act 2, Part 2, and why?

6. What is the main point or reason for the argument between Peggy and Hildy at the end of Act 2, Part 5?

7. According to Hildy in Act 2, Part 1, how did Williams get the gun in order to escape from jail?

8. What joke does Hildy have at McCue's expense when the two cross paths in Act 2, Part 1?

9. How does Burns unintentionally reveal where Williams is hiding in Act 3, Part 2?

10. How does Burns deal with Bensinger in Act 3, Part 1, and what parallel can be drawn between that and another character in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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