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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. How does Grandma know that the horse was not even Mildred's?

2. At _____________ o' clock, everyone stops to observe a minute of silence for Armistice Day.

3. A forlorn Mary Alice informs Grandma of ______________.

4. What is humorous about the answer to number 59?

5. What do Grandma and Mary Alice do at the cobhouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Mary Alice afraid at night in her room? How does she deal with this fear?

2. How does Old Man Nyquist upset Grandma?

3. How does Grandma continue to taunt the pranksters during the party? How might the pranksters feel about this?

4. What does Grandma do when she arrives at the Pensingers' residence? Why does she do this?

5. What happens to Bootsie one night? Why does this happen?

6. What is a main reason for why Mary Alice does not want to move in with her grandmother? Why might she feel this way?

7. What has happened to Mrs. Abernathy's son? Is this still seen today? Why or why not?

8. How does Grandma handle these pranksters?

9. How does Mildred go about attempting to collect the dollar from Mary Alice? What does this reveal about Mildred?

10. What is Armistice Day? What is a holiday that we have that serves a similar purpose? What is the purpose of this holiday?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mary Alice falls in love with Royce.

Part 1) How do Mary Alice's feelings for Royce develop throughout the book? How do his feelings for her mirror her feelings for him? How is Mary Alice finally able to get the courage up to invite Royce over? How might Grandma have played a role in this?

Part 2) What about Royce is appealing to Mary Alice and the other girls? Do you see in him what these girls see? Why or why not? What is special about Mary Alice? How does she stand out from the rest of the girls in her school?

Part 3) What other romantic attachments take place in this book? What is the purpose of these attachments to the story? How are they tied to the plot, character development, and/or themes?

Essay Topic 2

Grandma lives in a small hick town.

Part 1) Describe this small town and its inhabitants. Why does Mary Alice think she will not like this town? In the end, does Mary Alice end up liking the town? Why or why not?

Part 2) What does this town reveal about Americans throughout the country during the 1930s? What aspects of this town are universal and could represent many towns throughout the U.S.?

Part 3) How does this town compare to your own? How have Americans changed since the 1930s? How have they stayed the same? What are possible causes of these similarities and differences?

Essay Topic 3

Pride is a theme.

Part 1) What is pride? How is this a theme in this story? What role does Grandma play in this theme? Why? How is this a universal theme?

Part 2) How can you relate to this theme? When has pride been an important theme in your own life? What can you learn about pride from this story?

Part 3) What other themes are important to this story? How is each theme significant? How are these themes connected to the main characters? How are these themes connected to one another?

(see the answer keys)

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