Question

trifles by susan glaspell scene: the kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of john wright, a gloomy kitchen, and left without having been put in order—unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish towel on the table—other signs of incompleted work. at the rear the outer door opens, and the sheriff comes in, followed by the county attorney and hale. the sheriff and hale are men in middle life, the county attorney is a young man; all are much bundled up and go at once to the stove. they are followed by the two women--the sheriff’s wife first she is a slight wiry woman, a thin nervous face. mrs. hale is larger and would ordinarily be called more comfortable looking, but she is disturbed now and looks fearfully about as she enters. the women have come in slowly and stand close together near the door. county attorney (rubbing his hands): this feels good. come up to the fire, ladies. mrs. peters (after taking a step forward): i’m not—cold. sheriff (unbuttoning his overcoat and stepping away from the stove as if to the make the fire might have got a little of this one. (gives the roller towel a pull.) wish i’d thought of that sooner. seems mean to talk about her for not having things slicked up when she had to come away in such a hurry. mrs. peters (who has gone to a small table in the left rear corner of the room, and lifted one end of a towel that covers a pan): she had bread set. (stands still.) how would an audio recording of this excerpt help establish the setting of the play? options: through the use of props such as the roller towel; through the characters’ expressions as they talk; through the sound effect of footsteps; through the changing tones of the characters’

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. "through the use of props such as the roller towel": Props are visual, and an audio recording can’t convey visual props. Eliminate this.
2. "through the characters’ expressions as they talk": Expressions are visual (body language/facial), and audio can’t show expressions. Eliminate this.
3. "through the sound effect of footsteps": The setting is a kitchen in an abandoned farmhouse. Footsteps (e.g., on wooden floors, moving around the kitchen) can create an auditory sense of the space, helping establish the setting.
4. "through the changing tones of the characters": Tones reflect emotion/attitude, not the setting (like the kitchen or farmhouse environment). Eliminate this.

An audio recording uses sound. Footsteps (e.g., on a kitchen floor) create a sound effect that helps listeners visualize the kitchen setting. Other options rely on visual elements (props, expressions) or character tone (not setting).

Answer:

through the sound effect of footsteps