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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Grandma Dowdel refuse to take her pie and register it at the Domestic Services tent as soon as she arrives at the fair in "The Day of Judgment"?

2. In the Prologue of the book, the narrator describes Grandma Dowdel as being as "tough as" what?

3. What kind of gun does Grandma Dowdel keep behind the woodbox?

4. How old is Joey Dowdel during his trip to Grandma's house in "A One-Woman Crime Wave"?

5. How old is Mary Alice Dowdel during her first visit to her Grandmother's in "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator describe the process of preparing Grandma's pie in "The Day of Judgment"?

2. Where do Joey and Mary Alice meet Aunt Puss Chapman? How is Aunt Puss described?

3. What happens just before the tasting at the cooking contest in "The Day of Judgment"?

4. What violent events occur on Mary Alice and Joey's first night at Grandma Dowdel's house in "The Mouse in the Milk"?

5. What does Grandma Dowdel coerce Mr. Cowgill to do to his sons in the end of "The Mouse in the Milk"? How does she coerce him?

6. What information do Mary Alice and Joey learn about Grandma's past from Aunt Puss Chapman?

7. How does Grandma Dowdel overcome her adversaries at the end of “A One Woman Crime Wave"?

8. How does Grandma Dowdel describe "the truth" of Shotgun Cheatham and how he got his name?

9. How do Joey and Mary Alice feel about their trip to Grandma Dowdel's in the beginning of "The Day of Judgment"?

10. What story does Grandma Dowdel give to the city reporter about Shotgun Cheatham? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the narrator of the stories in A Long Way from Chicago. How old is the narrator as he relates the stories? How old is the narrator during his first visit to Grandma Dowdel's house? How does this character evolve in the course of the stories?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Grandma Dowdel switch the labels on the pies in "The Day of Judgment"? Does Grandma Dowdel achieve her objective by committing this action? Why or why not? How does Joey perceive Grandma Dowdel's action in switching the labels?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the characters of O. B. Dickerson and Earl T. Askew in the book. What are the actions, objectives, and obstacles of the characters? How would you describe Grandma Dowdel's relationship with these characters? What are Joey and Mary Alice's perceptions of these characters?

(see the answer keys)

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