Relationship of Setting/Character: Fiction/Drama Practice Test

Read the following excerpt from an original drama.

A hospital waiting room at 3 a.m. The television is muted, showing a smiling anchor gesturing at a weather map. The vending machine hums and occasionally clunks as if swallowing coins. A row of plastic chairs is bolted to the floor; one chair has a crack taped over with medical tape.

DEV (standing, then sitting, then standing again): If I sit, I’ll sink.

LENA (eyes on the muted TV): You won’t.

DEV: The chairs are nailed down like they don’t trust us.

He presses a finger against the taped crack; the tape lifts slightly, then sticks back with a faint snap.

LENA: Stop picking at it.

DEV: I just want to see where it breaks.

Which choice best explains how the setting shapes DEV’s characterization through the emphasized elements?

Consider the bolted chairs, the muted television, and the taped crack.

Read the following original drama excerpt and answer the question.

Stage: A small-town library basement during a storm. A dehumidifier rattles beside boxes labeled “DISCARDS.” A leak drips into a metal bucket, each drop amplified. A single emergency exit sign glows above stairs leading up, but the door at the top is chained.

ELI (sitting on an overturned crate, holding a clipboard): Inventory’s easy. Nothing changes down here.

MS. KLINE (librarian, standing under the exit sign): The chain is temporary.

ELI: Temporary’s just permanent with better manners.

MS. KLINE (listens to the drip): That sound makes me want to fix things.

ELI: It makes me want to count them. One. Two. Three.

MS. KLINE: Why?

ELI (shrugs): If I can predict it, it can’t surprise me.

Thunder. The emergency sign flickers, then steadies.

Which choice best describes how the setting shapes the audience’s understanding of Eli?

Note: Focus on the relationship between the chained exit, the repetitive dripping, and Eli’s response to them.