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Test your knowledge of Trifles. Submit your answers to see your results and get feedback.
What is a key detail about John and Minnie Wright's farmhouse at the beginning of the play?
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The kitchen is messy
There is a dead body downstairs
The house is falling apart
No one knows where its owners are
What type of irony is evident in Mr. Hale coming to the Wright's house to see if John Wright would want to invest in a party telephone line?
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Dramatic irony
Verbal irony
Situational irony
Cosmic irony
What is the primary assumption that the men make about Minnie Wright throughout the play?
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That she is innocent and misunderstood
That she is guilty and all they need is the proof
That she is incapable of committing the murder
That she was mistreated by her husband
What does Mr. Hale mean when he says "women are used to worrying over trifles"?
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Women are concerned about unimportant things
Women should be more concerned with cooking and cleaning
Women are highly attentive to details
Women have strong intuition in solving mysteries
Why does Mrs. Hale defend Minnie when George Henderson criticizes Minnie's abilities as a housekeeper?
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She feels guilty that she has criticized Minnie's housekeeping in the past
She understands how hard it is to actually run a farmhouse
She is friends with Minnie and has known her a long time
She knows that her own kitchen is even messier
How do Mrs. Hale's and Mrs. Peters' initial perspectives on the men's behavior toward Minnie and her house differ?
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Mrs. Hale is more critical, while Mrs. Peters is more accepting of the men's behavior
Mrs. Hale agrees with the men, while Mrs. Peters is more critical
Both women are equally critical of the men's behavior
Both women are equally accepting of the men's behavior
What does Mrs. Hale come to understand based on the clothes she collects to bring to Minnie at the jail?
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Minnie had a lot of time to spend working on her clothes
Minnie enjoyed wearing plain clothes
Minnie's husband was stingy with money
Minnie was happy in her marriage
What does the state of Minnie Wright's house reveal about her relationship with her husband?
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Her marriage brought her happiness
Her marriage had its ups and downs
Her marriage restricted and isolated her
Her husband was supportive and generous
How was John Wright killed?
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A canning jar exploded in his hands
He was stabbed with a knitting needle
He was shot in the back
He was strangled in his sleep
How do the men react when they hear the women discussing a quilt that Minnie had been working on?
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Ask the women to add the quilt to the evidence they are collecting
Ignore the conversation and continue their investigation
Laugh at the women for thinking about it
Examine the quilt and criticize Minnie's sewing skills
What does Mrs. Hale's act of re-sewing the end of Minnie's quilt symbolically suggest?
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Mrs. Hale's desire to teach Minnie a better sewing technique
Mrs. Hale's belief that the quilt is irrelevant to the investigation
Mrs. Hale's willingness to conceal aspects of Minnie's situation from the men
Mrs. Hale's attempt to distract herself from the investigation
What does the women's discovery of the birdcage in the cupboard introduce into the play?
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The theme of hidden talents, specifically singing
The theme of imprisonment and isolation
The theme of the importance of communication
The possibility of an outside intruder
What does the women's characterization of John Wright as "a good man" who did not drink or go into debt demonstrate?
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The societal standards by which men were judged did not include how they treated their wives
Mrs. Hale's disinterest in identifying, even at this point, an abusive relationship
That drinking alcohol always tends to lead to bad outcomes in family life
That John Wright was successful in hiding his debts and maintaining his good name
What transformation did Minnie undergo after marrying Mr. Wright?
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From a timid and unhappy girl to a sweet and confident woman
From a sweet and timid girl to a timid and unhappy woman
From a lively and social girl to a quiet and introverted woman
From an ambitious and driven girl to a content and settled woman
Why after finding the dead bird does Mrs. Hale hide it from the men?
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She wants to keep the bird as a keepsake in order to remember Minnie
She believes that the bird is irrelevant to the case
She knows the men will see it as evidence of motive and nothing more
She thinks that the men will laugh at her for focusing on it
What change occurs in Mrs. Peters after the discovery of the dead bird?
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She becomes even more afraid and timid
She starts to believe that Minnie really did commit murder
She decides to adopt a child
She becomes willing to oppose her husband
Why does Mrs. Hale say that her failure to visit Minnie to be a kind of crime?
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She believes if she had visited Minnie then Minnie would not be in jail
She could have intervened and saved John Wright's life
She always understood Minnie's pain because all women experience similar things
She could have helped Minnie improve her skills as a housewife which would have improved her marriage
Even after discovering the dead bird, how are Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter's views of the law different?
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Mrs. Peters believes in the importance of the law while Mrs. Hale sees it as something that oppresses women
Mrs. Peters believes the law comes before mercy while Mrs. Hale believes mercy should always come first
Mrs. Peter believes the law is defined by men while Mrs. Hale thinks it is defined by God
Mrs. Peters is unconcerned about the law in practical matters while Mrs. Hale thinks it is naive to ignore the law
What does Mr. Henderson's trust that he doesn't need to look over what Mrs. Peters is bringing to Minnie at the jail reveal about his attitude towards her?
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He respects her intelligence and independence
He sees her as an equal partner in the investigation
He sees her as a potential suspect in the case
He views her as belonging to her husband the sheriff
How does the final conversation between the men and women about Minnie's quilt capture the broader dynamic portrayed between men and women in the story?
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The men are focused on what is actually important in the case, while the women are focused on trifles
The men think the women are focused on trifles, which makes them blind to what women actually know, think, and feel
The women are engaged in an all-out effort to undermine the men and the law the men seek to uphold
The women distrust the men while the men believe that the women are themselves dishonest and deceitful
