Plot & Setting
What object arrives in a sealed wooden and glass box at Norma and Arthur's apartment?
What is a push button unit?
Which character is more intrigued and tempted by Mr. Steward's offer?
Who is Norma Lewis?
What point of view is used to tell the story?
What is third-person limited?
What primary negative human trait does this story warn against?
What is greed?
What vocabulary word means a proposal or business deal offered to someone?
What is a proposition?
How much money does Mr. Steward offer the couple if they press the button?
What is $50,000?
Which character strongly opposes the proposition, calling it murder?
Who is Arthur Lewis?
What type of irony defines the ending when Norma gets the exact money she wanted through her husband fatal accident?
What is situational irony?
How does Arthur define the act of pressing the button from the very beginning?
What is murder?
What word describes behavior that goes against moral principals or right standards?
What is immoral?
What is the single condition Mr. Steward gives regarding the person who will die?
Who is someone they do not know?
What materialistic items or experiences motivate Norma to want the money?
What are a trip to Europe, a cottage, nicer clothes, or a better apartment?
What does the push-button unit symbolize in the narrative?
What is human greed and temptation?
What classic literary/mythological tale does this button deal parallel?
What is Pandora's box or the Garden of Eden?
What word means done suddenly and without thinking carefully about the results?
What is impusively?
How does Arthur die in the resolution of the story?
What is pushed in front of a subway/train?
What chilling final line does Mr. Steward say to Norma on the phone?
What is, "did you really think you knew your husband?"
What major internal conflict dose Norma experience throught the text?
What is Norma vs. herself ( her conscience vs. he greed)?
What ultimate message does Matheson convey about human relationships i the twist ending?
What is that we often do not truly know the people closest to us?
What life insurance term means a clause paying double the normal amount for accidental death?
What is double indemnity?
Where does the money to pay Norma ultimately come from?
What is Arthur's life insurance policy (with double idemnity)?
How does Arthur view the button unit compared to Norma's view that it might be a psychological game?
What is inherently immoral/wrong regardless of who conducts the experiment?
What major external conflict drives the plot foward between the couple?
What is Norma vs Arthur?
Why does Norma ultimately justify pressing the button despite her initial hesitation?
What is her selfish desire to improve their lives outweighing the life of anonymous stanger?
Who is the famous sci-fi and horror author who wrote this short story?
Who is Richard Matheson?