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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When speaking to Mrs. Peters what does Mrs. Hale compare Mr. Wright to?

2. What is a symbol of Mrs. Wright’s life prior to her marriage in the play?

3. According to Henry Peters, what had the temperature dropped below the previous night?

4. What does Mrs. Peters tell Mrs. Hale that she knows?

5. As the men reenter from upstairs, George Henderson remarks, “But you know juries when it comes to” what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. What does Mr. Henderson discover broken in the cupboard? What does Mrs. Peters remark about this?

9. What comment is made regarding the kitchen before the men depart upstairs? Why is this significant?

10. What leads the women to discover the pretty box in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationship between Sheriff Peters and Mrs. Peters in comparison to the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Hale. What are the similarities? What are the differences?

Essay Topic 2

Define and identify the imagery used in Trifles. How does the use of simile give the reader a better understanding of Mr. and Mrs. Wright? What metaphors are presented in the play? How do they reflect the play’s themes?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Minnie Wright in comparison to Margaret Hossack. How, in the articles about the Hossack trial, was Margaret Hossack described? What was Margaret Hossack’s sentence? How does this relate to the play?

(see the answer keys)

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