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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 is the crowd shocked?

2. By the end of the night, the two have ______________.

3. The big moment arrives, with a light being shone on whom?

4. Mary Alice works up her nerve and writes an invitation to Royce. How does Royce respond?

5. How do the girls react to Royce McNabb, the new boy at school?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mary Alice finally take a chance and ask Royce over to visit? How does Grandma feel about this? Why?

2. Who is the strange man who comes calling? Why?

3. How does Grandma initially respond to Mrs. Weidenbach's request? Why?

4. What does Grandma do to pay the bills and survive during the Great Depression? How is this foreshadowed?

5. Why might the townspeople act this way toward this strange man?

6. How does Grandma take advantage of this man? Why does she do this?

7. What is the final surprise in this chapter? Are you surprised by this? Why or why not?

8. How do Ina-Rae and Mary Alice get back at Carleen? Why do they do it in this way?

9. What is the most important part of the Christmas program? Why is it surprising that Mary Alice is chosen to play an important role in this? Why might she have been chosen?

10. What is learned about Mrs. Weidenbach? How is this significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Grandma hunts foxes to survive.

Part 1) Describe Grandma's hunting technique. Are you surprised by her decision to hunt foxes? Why or why not? How might she have come to be a fox hunter? What does this reinforce about her character?

Part 2) What is the purpose for revealing this in the story? How does this help to develop Grandma's character and her relationship with Mary Alice?

Part 3) How have other characters in this story adapted to the hard times of the Great Depression? How might you have adapted at this time to survive? What skills do you posses that would be useful?

Essay Topic 2

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?

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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