View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Before Grandma leaves, about what does she warn Mary Alice?

2. The day proceeds, and most of the _________________ are bad shots.

3. To where does Mildred follow Mary Alice?

4. Until the family recovers financially, the narrator will have to live with ________________ in an unnamed town.

5. The teacher is reading ____________ when Mary Alice enters the class.

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mary Alice react to Mildred's plan for getting her dollar from Mary Alice? What does this reveal about her?

2. How does Grandma defeat Mildred, the bully? What lesson does this teach Mary Alice?

3. How does Grandma get back at Old Man Nyquist? Should she have done this? Why or why not?

4. Where does Mary Alice go directly after arriving in town? What is happening there when Mary Alice arrives?

5. How does Grandma raise money for Mrs. Abernathy? Is this a good tactic? Why or why not?

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

7. What does Mary Alice bring to Grandma's house? Why does she bring this?

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

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

10. How does Grandma handle these pranksters?

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

After arriving in town, Mary Alice is directly taken to high school.

Part 1) Describe Mary Alice's high school experience. How does it compare to your own school experiences? How was school in the 1930s like school today? How was it different?

Part 2) How does school become an important place for Mary Alice? How is she changed by her experiences at this school? Are these changes good or bad? Why?

Part 3) How have your school experiences changed you? Do you believe attending school is an important part of one's childhood? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The main part of the story ends in celebration.

Part 1) Describe this celebration. How is this celebration important to the people of this town? What other celebrations also take place in this story? Why? How are celebrations an important part of life in this town? Why?

Part 2) How do these celebrations balance out the struggles these people face? How might this have been exceptionally important during the 1930s throughout the United States?

Part 3) How are celebrations important today? What specific holidays are particularly important in one's life today? Why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,153 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample