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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. What word does Mrs. Hale refer to Mr. Wright as, which indicates that he was tight with money?

2. Mr. Hale says that he stops by the Wrights’ home to ask John Wright about sharing what?

3. How does Mr. Hale describe the Wrights’ house when he arrives and discovers the murder?

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

5. According to Mr. Hale, how does Mrs. Wright respond when he asks, “Then why can’t I see him?”

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Mrs. Peters attempt to maintain objectiveness with Mrs. Hale when she concludes Minnie's innocence?

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

4. What indication does Mrs. Wright give in front of Mr. Henderson that Mr. Wright is unpleasant?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the lives of women in rural American communities at the turn of the century. What were typical tasks assigned to women? How did the requirements of frontier life determine the role women played in the family? How were women’s and men’s roles differ?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the symbolism of the bird cage, the pretty box, and the dead canary. What is represented by each item? How do these symbols reflect the play’s themes? How do they help develop the tone of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the setting of the story and discuss how this setting evokes mood. How is the Wright home described? What visceral sense do you get from the descriptions of the house? Why?

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