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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. What does Junior Stubbs sell in "The Phantom Brakeman"?

2. What car does Joey describe as "shimmering in her loveliness" outside of Veech's garage in "Things with Wings"?

3. Who does Grandma Dowdel tell Mary Alice and Joey that the stovepipe hat in the attic once belonged to in the beginning of "Things with Wings"?

4. Where does Joe Dowdel have to go for basic training in "The Troop Train"?

5. Who is the proprietress of the Coffee Pot Cafe?

Short Essay Questions

1. What exchange takes place the first time Miz Eubanks comes to Grandma Dowdel's house in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

2. What does Mrs. Weidenbach comes to ask of Grandma Dowdel in “Centennial Summer"? What is Grandma's reply?

3. What exchange do Mary Alice and Joey witness between Vandalia Eubanks and her mother at the Coffee Pot Cafe in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

4. What childhood dream is Joey Dowdel pursuing in “The Troop Train"? How?

5. How does Grandma Dowdel succeed in getting Effie Wilcox her house back in “Things with Wings"?

6. What car is sitting outside of Veech's Gas and Oil in “Things with Wings"? How does Joey describe the car?

7. What exchange takes place between Joey and Junior Stubbs by the privy in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

8. Why does Grandma Dowdel send Mary Alice and Joey to the attic in “Centennial Summer"? What do they find?

9. What is the ghost story that Grandma Dowdel relates in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

10. How would you describe the style of language and dialogue in A Long Way from Chicago?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why has Effie Wilcox left on the train in the beginning of “Things with Wings"? What actions does Grandma Dowdel take in the story to bring Effie Back? Why does she want to bring Effie back to town?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

What does Grandma Dowdel achieve by lying to the Peoria reporter in “Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night above Ground"? How do Grandma's actions in this story impact the town where she lives? What are Joey and Mary Alice's impressions of Grandma's actions?

(see the answer keys)

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