Which of the following stage directions from part one of Trifles is designed to express emotion?
Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.SHERIFF. Nothing here but kitchen things. (The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.) COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here’s a nice mess. (The women draw nearer.) MRS. PETERS (to the other woman). Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (To the Lawyer). She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break.What do the underlined stage directions suggest about the women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters?
Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles. MRS. HALE (abruptly moving toward her). Mrs. Peters?Which best describes the effect of the word “abruptly” in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.MRS. HALE (examining the skirt).What does the word “examining” mean in the stage direction?
Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.HALE. Well, she looked queer.COUNTY ATTORNEY. How do you mean—queer?HALE. Well, as if she didn’t know what she was going to do next. And kind of done up.Which word has a meaning similar to “queer” as it is used in this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.HALE. I didn’t hear or see anything; I knocked at the door, and still it was all quiet inside. I knew they must be up, it was past eight o’clock. So I knocked again, and I thought I heard somebody say, “Come in.” I wasn’t sure, I’m not sure yet, but I opened the door—this door (indicating the door by which the two women are still standing), and there in that rocker—(pointing to it) sat Mrs. Wright. (They all look at the rocker.)How does the underlined stage direction affect the mood of the scene?
Which of the following stage directions from part one of Trifles supports the idea that the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, are stronger than they may at first appear?
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