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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 was Mrs. Wright’s response when Mr. Hale asks her, “Weren’t you sleepin’ in the bed with him?”
(a) No, I was cooking
(b) Yes, but I was on the inside
(c) No, I was sleeping downstairs
(d) Yes, but I was on the outside

2. Which of the following is a key theme in Trifles?
(a) Isolation
(b) Sibling rivalry
(c) The impact of war
(d) Sexual longing

3. Near the end of the play, at what sound does Mrs. Hale snatch the box?
(a) The horses approaching
(b) The doorknob turning
(c) The doorbell ringing
(d) A dog barking

4. What does Mrs. Peters tell Mrs. Hale that she knows?
(a) Stillness
(b) Grief
(c) Purity
(d) Sanity

5. What character is described as a woman who “would ordinarily be called more comfortable looking, but she is disturbed now”?
(a) Mrs. Peters
(b) Mrs. Wright
(c) Mrs. Hale
(d) Bessie

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Near the end of the play, where does Mrs. Peters attempt to hide the jeweled box?

3. According to Mr. Hale, how does Mrs. Wright respond when he asks, “Who did this, Mrs. Wright?”

4. What item does Mrs. Peters say Mrs. Wright had asked for, calling it a funny thing to want in jail?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mrs. Hale say to Mrs. Peters in disregarding the stitching of the quilt?

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

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

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

5. How does Mrs. Peters describe her understanding of stillness in the narrative?

6. When does Mrs. Hale ask Mrs. Peters her opinion on the guilt of Mrs. Wright? What is her reply?

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

8. What causes Mr. Hale to backtrack in his description of Mrs. Wright's demeanor in his interview with the County Attorney?

9. What is strange about the choice of weapon used in the murder? What do the women remark about it?

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

(see the answer keys)

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