Question

read the excerpt from part two of trifles. county attorney (facetiously). well, henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. she was going to—what is it you call it, ladies! mrs. hale (her hand against her pocket). we call it—knot it, mr. henderson. how is this excerpt an example of irony? the lighthearted and humorous tone of the county attorney is the opposite of what you would expect during a situation like this. a show of interest in the quilt on the mens behalf was a sudden twist of what would normally be expected. the county attorney appeared to be asking a question about the quilt, but he was actually asking another question entirely. it appeared as though mrs. hale was answering the question, but she actually meant something quite different with her response.

Explanation:

Mrs. Hale's response "knot it" has a double meaning: literally referring to quilting, but implicitly implying she "knotted" (killed) her husband, creating irony as her words appear to answer the question but mean something different.

Answer:

D. It appeared as though Mrs. Hale was answering the question, but she actually meant something quite different with her response.