Our Town

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What are the two primary roles of the Stage Manager in the play?

A) To guide the plot and control the characters

B) To control the characters and involve the audience

C) To involve the audience and apply stage props

D) To guide the plot and involve the audience

2. Which of the following adjectives best describes Emily’s character?

A) Honest

B) Brave

C) Calculating

D) Conceited

3. How does Mrs. Gibbs react to seeing Emily at the graveyard?

A) She attempts to help her.

B) She ignores her.

C) She becomes angry with her.

D) She becomes distraught.

4. Which of the following characters most closely demonstrates the repetitiveness of daily life?

A) The Stage Manager

B) Howie the Milkman

C) Simon Stimson

D) George Gibbs

5. Who believes that women who become teachers should stay teachers?

A) Emily Webb

B) Wally Webb

C) Joe Crowell

D) Doc Gibbs

6. Which of the following stage props is not used in the play?

A) A chair

B) A lamp

C) A table

D) A bed

7. What does the moon most likely symbolize?

A) The passing of time

B) The eternal cycle

C) A higher spiritual power

D) The love between George and Emily

8. Our Town is a play that most closely illustrates humanity’s lack of appreciation for:

A) Love and family

B) The ordinary

C) Human history

D) Hard work and sacrifice

9. Which of the following best describes the mood of Act III?

A) Foreboding

B) Hopeless

C) Empty

D) Somber

10. Why does the town fail to help Simon with his depression?

A) They are unaware of his problem.

B) Simon doesn’t allow anyone to help him.

C) They ignore the severity of his issues.

D) They attempt to help him, but it doesn’t work.

11. Which of the following symbols best represents the connections among the townspeople?

A) The church hymn

B) The moon

C) The factory

D) The school

12. What is the most likely reason for Mrs. Webb’s statement, “I’d rather have my children healthy than bright”? (Act I)

A) She doesn’t care about her children’s intelligence.

B) She knows that her children are not very smart.

C) She wants her children to be on the best sports teams.

D) She knows the likelihood of her children dying of disease.

13. Which of the following scenes best demonstrates The Importance of Love and Family?

A) George and Emily’s date

B) George and Emily’s wedding

C) George’s visit to the graveyard

D) George’s confession of his feelings

14. How does George’s character develop over the course of the play?

A) At first unkind, he becomes more generous.

B) At first conceited, he becomes humbler.

C) At first nervous, he becomes more confident.

D) At first dedicated, he becomes more lackadaisical.

15. What might be the meaning of “terrible” in the following quote by Emily: “My, isn’t the moonlight terrible?” (Act I)

A) Amazing

B) Scary

C) Overwhelming

D) Beautiful

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why do both George and Emily hesitate to marry one another despite being in love, and how do their parents perpetuate norms they don’t necessarily agree with?

2. How does Emily come to the realization that she failed to appreciate life while she had it?