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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is Ann Rutledge?
(a) The postmistress of New Salem.
(b) A nun who has taken up the monastic life in Illinois.
(c) Lincoln's aunt.
(d) The woman Abe Lincoln wants to court.

2. What does Mary Todd say when asked in Act. 2, Scene 5, if she is considering marriage to Lincoln?
(a) "I am determined to marry Stephen Douglas."
(b) "That is the most repulsive idea I've ever heard."
(c) "I have decided I shall be Mrs. Lincoln."
(d) "I have never given that idea a moment's thought."

3. What does Lincoln's companion think of Lincoln's plan for his wedding?
(a) He believes everything will work out fine, once Lincoln has a drink or two.
(b) He thinks Lincoln is being too brutal, at least in the way he intends to deliver the news.
(c) He agrees that Lincoln is making the right decision, for the right reasons.
(d) He's distressed and offers to deliver the news himself.

4. Why is Mary Todd so sure that Lincoln will be a success, and not stop to tell jokes, as her sister predicts?
(a) Because Lincoln has confided his dream of becoming a successful merchant and moving to New York.
(b) Because she is strong enough to make sure he moves along the road of success without stopping.
(c) Because she knows that Lincoln is not very good at telling jokes and has a strong streak of ambition.
(d) She doesn't care if he's a success; she has a huge inheritance that will support them both.

5. In Act 2, Scene 4, who arrives unexpectedly at Lincoln's office to visit?
(a) Bowling and Nancy Green.
(b) Bowling Green and Josh Speed.
(c) Seth Gale and Nancy Green.
(d) Ann Rutledge and Josh Speed.

6. According to Nancy Green in Act 1, Scene 3, why can't Lincoln face life without a woman by his side?
(a) Because he listens to strange voices that speak to him in church and they command him to do bad things.
(b) Because he hears the whispers of the dead women in his life, including his mother, and he can't understand what the whispers mean.
(c) Because he goes into trances when under stress and needs someone to help him snap out of it.
(d) Because he hears voices in the night and they give him contradictory directions.

7. Who is Billy Herndon?
(a) A law clerk in Lincoln's office.
(b) The illegitimate son of Josh Speed.
(c) The boy who delivers mid-afternoon coffee and lottery tickets.
(d) A client of Lincoln's who is accused of murder.

8. How much would Lincoln be paid as a member of the legislature?
(a) Nothing, it's a volunteer job.
(b) $5 a day.
(c) $2.50 a day.
(d) $3 a day.

9. What happens to Ann Rutledge?
(a) Bitten by a mosquito, she is paralzyed and left speechless.
(b) She dies of a brain sickness.
(c) She runs away to Chicago to attend law school.
(d) She meets a wealthy man, marries him and moves West.

10. In a poem that Lincoln reads in the first scene, what is it that the poet finds strange about people?
(a) They are afraid to face death alone.
(b) They dance through life unaware of pleasure.
(c) They look forward to death, even when life is good.
(d) They think of death as an awakening.

11. Billy Herndon, Lincoln's law clerk, arrives in Act 2, Scene 6. What is his condition?
(a) He's debilitated by swamp fever.
(b) He's drunk, as usual.
(c) He has quit drinking and is sober.
(d) He's suffering from an early case of swine flu.

12. What do Josh Speed and Bowling Green think might be the result, if slavery spreads further across the South?
(a) The South could overthrow the existing government and move the Capitol to Virginia.
(b) Lincoln could be drafted to head the military.
(c) Civil war might break out.
(d) The British would reassert power over the colonies.

13. What are the two professions open to people who fail at everything else, according to Lincoln's teacher?
(a) Journalism and law.
(b) School teaching and politics.
(c) Politics and prospecting.
(d) School teaching and store keeping.

14. Who is Ninian Edwards?
(a) Uncle of Elizabeth Edwards.
(b) A merchant passing through New Salem.
(c) Josh Speed's stepbrother.
(d) Son of the Illinois governor.

15. Ninian Andrews arrives at Lincoln's office and learns about a sad event. What is it?
(a) Seth Gale's mother is dead of malaria.
(b) Jack Armstrong is in jail for murder.
(c) Lincoln's dog, Rufus, has been killed in a hunting mishap.
(d) The death of Lincoln's friend, Bowling Green.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is President during the time represented in Act 2, Scene 4?

2. In Act 2, Scene 4, why is Billy Herndon disappointed with Lincoln?

3. Who are the main characters in the first scene of the play?

4. Why can't Lincoln bring himself to shoot a deer?

5. What is Josh Speed's request to the Greens as he departs at the end of Act 1, Scene 3?

(see the answer keys)

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