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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 has broken the narrator and her mother?

2. Mary Alice has a Halloween party at school, and Grandma decides to do what?

3. Next, Grandma and Mary Alice travel to the _______________ residence.

4. What is wrong with Mrs. Abernathy's grown son?

5. Her desk mate dubs Mary Alice the "rich Chicago girl." Why?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Grandma think about Halloween? Why does she feel this way? Why would the reader probably not be surprised by this?

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

3. What is burgoo stew? How might this represent life during the Great Depression?

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

5. How can Mary Alice now find out who the pranksters were?

6. How does Grandma handle these pranksters?

7. How does Grandma trick Mildred? What does this reveal about her?

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

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

10. How has Bootsie changed since he moved in with Grandma? What has led to this change?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A tornado hits the town.

Part 1) Describe the events surrounding the tornado. How did this tornado affect the citizens of this town? Why did the author have a tornado touch down in this town? What is revealed through this natural disaster?

Part 2) What other major events take place in this story? How are these events important? How do they affect the plot and the characters?

Part 3) What events have been significant in your own life? How have these events affected you? How do these events compare to the events in this story?

Essay Topic 2

Mary Alice is the main character.

Part 1) Describe Mary Alice. How does she change throughout the story? Why does she change? How do other characters in this story also change? What is Mary Alice's relationship with other main characters in the story?

Part 2) Mary Alice is also the narrator of the story. How does her narration affect the knowledge of the reader? How does it also influence the reader's opinion of other characters? How different might the story be if the narrator were not a character in the story? How different might the story be if Grandma was the narrator?

Part 3) What is learned about Middle America during the Great Depression through Mary Alice's eyes? Has this affected your view of life in the 1930s? If so, how? If not, why not?

Essay Topic 3

"A Dangerous Man" touches upon the stereotype of spring.

Part 1) What is the stereotype of spring? How is this touched upon in this chapter? How does this stereotype affect the characters in this book?

Part 2) What is the author's purpose for focusing on this stereotype? How is this stereotype tied to other events and/or themes in this book?

Part 3) What is another story that focuses on this stereotype? What is the reason for this? What are the similarities between this story and "A Year Down Yonder"?

(see the answer keys)

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