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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. Where is Mrs. Wright discovered when Mr. Hale comes by and discovers the murder?

2. How do the women determine Mrs. Wright’s pet had been killed?

3. According to the stage directions in the opening of the play, what is Lewis Hale’s profession?

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

5. George Henderson remarks to the Sheriff that there is “[n]o sign at all of anyone having” what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What does Mrs. Hale do with the stitching on the quilt? What is Mrs. Peters' response?

6. What scene does Mrs. Hale recreate for Mrs. Wright after the men have exited upstairs?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the use of exposition in A Jury of Her Peers. In a linear plot, where does the exposition generally fall in a story? How does this traditional plot structure apply to Trifles?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Describe the character of Lewis Hale and discuss his relationship with the other characters. How well does Mr. Hale know the Wrights'? What regard does he have for them?

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