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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. Mrs. Peters tells Mrs. Hale, “Mr. Henderson said coming out that what was needed for the case was” what?
(a) A weapon
(b) A motive
(c) An alibi
(d) Fingerprints

2. Mrs. Hale remarks that there was a man selling what kind of birds last year?
(a) Finches
(b) Parrots
(c) Parakeets
(d) Canaries

3. Where does Henry Peters say a man had gone crazy the day before?
(a) James Center
(b) Washington Park
(c) Morris Center
(d) Williams Hospital

4. According to Mr. Hale, how does Mrs. Wright respond when he asks, “Why, what did he die of?”
(a) He died of pneumonia
(b) He died of a rope round his neck
(c) He was killed by burglars
(d) He died of a gunshot

5. Who enters first in the opening scene of Trifles?
(a) Dr. Lloyd
(b) Henry Peters
(c) George Henderson
(d) Lewis Hale

Short Answer Questions

1. What key character in the play never appears onstage?

2. According to Mrs. Peters, where is Mrs. Wright’s shawl always hung?

3. Mrs. Peters says that her first baby died when he was how old?

4. Who is to take clothing and things to Mrs. Wright at the jail?

5. When speaking with Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Hale claims, “I know how things can be—for” what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What condescending comments are made of the women as the men first disappear upstairs?

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

5. What happens after Mr. Hale finishes his story of the previous day's events?

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

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

8. When George Henderson asks if Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright had been friends, how does Mrs. Hale reply?

9. How does Trifles reflect women’s roles during Susan Glaspell’s lifetime?

10. How is the theme of female loyalty illustrated in the play?

(see the answer keys)

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