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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. Near the end of the play, what does Mrs. Peters attempt to take from the box but cannot bring herself to do it?
(a) The slipper
(b) The canary
(c) The parakeet
(d) The scissors

2. According to Mr. Hale, how does Mrs. Wright respond when he says, “I want to see John”?
(a) She looked worried
(b) She cried
(c) She left the room
(d) She laughed

3. What characters are described as "men in middle life"?
(a) Henry Peters and Lewis Hale
(b) Lewis Hale and George Henderson
(c) Frank and Harry
(d) George Henderson and Dr. Lloyd

4. Mrs. Peters claims that “[t]he law has got to” do what?
(a) Punish crime
(b) Be right
(c) Uphold itself
(d) Collect taxes

5. What word from the stage directions refers to something that lacks serious content?
(a) Gallant
(b) Facetious
(c) Misogynistic
(d) Manipulative

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the short story that Susan Glaspell adapted Trifles into?

2. Where does Mrs. Peters say she and her husband homesteaded before?

3. Mrs. Hale remarks that Mr. Wright did not do what?

4. Which of the following is a recurring motif in Trifles?

5. Who does Mr. Hale say he is going to town with when he stops by the Wrights’ home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What leads Mr. Henderson to the conclusion that Mrs. Wright is a bad housekeeper?

2. What memory of brutal loss does Mrs. Peters share from her childhood?

3. What do the two women remark about the birdcage when they discover it?

4. How do the men in the play respond to Mrs. Wright's worry over her preserves?

5. What does Mrs. Peters say in response to Mrs. Hale berating herself for not visiting Minnie?

6. What is discovered by Mrs. Peters in the stitching of Mrs. Wright's quilt?

7. What does Mrs. Hale remark to Mrs. Peters about the lack of children in the home and Mr. Wright's personality?

8. What does Mrs. Hale discover in the box in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket? How do the women respond?

9. What is the men’s response when they discover the women examining the sewing basket?

10. What does Mrs. Hale remark to Mrs. Peters about the signs of anger in the Wrights' house?

(see the answer keys)

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