logo

71 pages 2 hours read

Joseph Kesselring, Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

Arsenic and Old Lace

Joseph Kesselring, Susanne Valenti, Caroline PeckhamFiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1941

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Answer Key

Act I

Reading Check

1. President Theodore Roosevelt (Act I)

2. To a play (Act I)

3. His manuscript (Act I)

4. Teddy (Act I)

5. With arsenic-laced elderberry wine (Act I)

6. Jonathan and Dr. Einstein (Act I)

Short Answer

1. He describes them as generous and kind. (Act 1)

2. He is digging to bury the bodies of the men who have been killed by the sisters. (Act I)

3. The Brewster sisters kill lonely old men to show, in their minds, mercy for their victims and their lonely situation. Their behavior is contradictory to their personalities, as the sisters feel they are being generous and kind by committing the murders. (Act I)

Act II

Reading Check

1. In Chicago (Act II)

2. Cellar/Panama Canal (Act II)

3. Yellow fever (Act II)

4. Jonathan (Act II)

5. Mr. Hoskin’s body (Act II)

6. Officer O’Hara (Act II)

Short Answer

1. Mortimer realizes that the Brewsters have a long history of violence, starting with those that crossed over on the Mayflower.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text