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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. Who turns out to be Mrs. Weidenbach's long-lost sistert?

2. After Maxine is gone, Grandma explains that she kept a _________ in the rafters of the attic in order to keep the birds away.

3. The town seems to come down on whose side, regarding this event?

4. Why does Grandma agree to help Mrs. Weidenbach?

5. ________________ remains Mary Alice's biggest nemesis.

Short Essay Questions

1. What newspaper column does Mary Alice write? Why might she do this?

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

3. What is one way that Grandma surprises Mary Alice during this holiday season? How is this important?

4. Why is this man in town? What does Grandma think of this?

5. How do the townspeople treat Arnold after this shocking event? Why?

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

7. What is Grandma's final surprise for Mary Alice? What does this reinforce about Grandma?

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

9. How do the girls react when a new boy enrolls in school? How does Mary Alice act? Why might she act this way?

10. Why does Mrs. Weidenbach ask for Grandma's help? Why is this surprising?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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

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)

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