Crooked House

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

Multiple Choice

1. Which character’s death does Edith most clearly foreshadow when she pulls the bindweed in the garden?

A) Her own

B) Janet’s

C) Aristides’s

D) Josephine’s

2. Which is the most accurate characterization of the Leonides family’s treatment of Brenda?

A) Disappointed and wounded

B) Welcoming and accepting

C) Judgmental and cold

D) Bemused and indulgent

3. Which is the most accurate description of Aristides Leonides?

A) Charming and light-hearted but also selfish

B) Charismatic and loving but also domineering

C) Impulsive and generous but also condescending

D) Thoughtful and attentive but also secretive

4. Which characters most clearly function as foils to one another?

A) Sophia and Josephine

B) Josephine and Eustace

C) Eustace and Laurence

D) Laurence and Sophia

5. Which events are foreshadowed by Josephine’s commentary about what happens to people who know too much in detective stories?

A) Edith’s false confession and her death

B) The arrests of Brenda and Laurence

C) The staged attack on Josephine and the murder of Janet

D) The deaths of Janet and Edith

6. For most of the novel, who is Charles’s primary suspect in Aristides’s murder?

A) Brenda

B) Josephine

C) Roger

D) Philip

7. What makes Josephine’s morality different from that of the other Leonides family members?

A) Josephine is selfish and egotistical, making it harder for her to consider that she might not always be right.

B) They are all a little ruthless, but Josephine is the only one clever enough to get away with murder.

C) Josephine lacks the human kindness and empathy that stops the others from acting on their worst impulses.

D) The other family members are too concerned with the family’s reputation to ever get involved in immoral actions.

8. Which character does Charles struggle the most to evaluate objectively?

A) Philip

B) Edith

C) Magda

D) Sophia

9. In what way are Roger and Philip’s attitudes toward Brenda and Josephine replicating Aristides’s treatment of Roger and Philip?

A) They openly favor Josephine over Brenda.

B) They fail to see Brenda and Josephine for who they really are.

C) They overprotect Josephine and Brenda.

D) They are manipulative toward Brenda and Josephine.

10. What is the primary reason the Leonides family is so hopeful that Brenda will turn out to be the killer?

A) They want to preserve the family’s status and reputation.

B) They want to cut Brenda out of her inheritance.

C) They are afraid of Brenda and want her locked up.

D) They are angry about Brenda’s treatment of their family.

11. What seems to be Charles’s main qualification for conducting an investigation into Aristides’s death?

A) His friendship with Taverner

B) His job with the British government

C) His service in the war

D) His father’s profession

12. Who is the only member of the Leonides family who does not suspect Brenda of killing Aristides?

A) Edith

B) Magda

C) Sophia

D) Clemency

13. What does Sophia’s initial refusal to follow through with her marriage to Charles have in common with Magda and Edith’s pleas for Sophia to bail out Associated Catering?

A) Both demonstrate how much the Leonides family relies on Sophia.

B) Both demonstrate the importance the characters place on reputation.

C) Both are a result of Sophia’s dependence on her family’s money.

D) Both are a result of the Leonides family’s unethical streak.

14. Which most accurately conveys the novel’s messages about wealth?

A) Money inevitably corrupts and isolates people.

B) The best use of wealth is to create security for one’s family.

C) Money means nothing compared to the love of friends and family.

D) Too much wealth and privilege can inhibit personal growth.

15. Which most accurately conveys the novel’s stance on evil?

A) Circumstances might contribute to a person’s capacity for evil, but evil is largely inborn.

B) People are either born evil or born good, and their life circumstances do not affect this.

C) All people are born good, but sometimes adverse circumstances can nurture evil inside them.

D) Evil is mostly created by circumstances, although some people might be more prone to evil than others.

Long Answer

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

1. How does Crooked House portray both a positive and negative side of Aristides’s love for his family?

2. How are details of Josephine’s education used as both a red herring and an element of foreshadowing?