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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. Whose cow does Grandma Dowdel claim to have started the Great Fire of Chicago in "The Phantom Brakeman"?

2. When was author Richard Peck born?

3. What is one of the major recurring themes in A Long Way from Chicago?

4. What kind of dancing lessons has Mary Alice been taking in "Centennial Summer"?

5. How much money does Ray Veech say the car costs that is sitting in front of the garage at Veech's Gas and Oil in "Things with Wings"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has Grandma Dowdel's demeanor changed in the beginning of “Things with Wings"? Why?

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

3. What is the significance of Nehi sodas in “The Phantom Brakeman”?

4. How does Joey contact Grandma Dowdel in “The Troop Train"? What information does he relay to her?

5. What does the narrator say about John Dillinger in “Things with Wings"?

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

7. How is the theme of family illustrated in “The Troop Train"?

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

9. How is Uncle Grady Griswold described in “Centennial Summer"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the character of Aunt Puss Chapman in A Long Way from Chicago. How old is Aunt Puss Chapman? What is her history with Grandma Dowdel? Why does Grandma Dowdel go to Aunt Puss Chapman's house in “A One Woman Crime Wave"?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the themes of deception and cunning in the stories from A Long Way from Chicago. In what stories are these themes most predominant? How? What characters embody or exhibit these themes?

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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