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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Margaret bury Rick's muddy sneakers?
(a) She wanted to protect him from the police.
(b) She did not want to clean them.
(c) She believed he may be involved in the Sparks case.
(d) She thought John Sparks used them.

2. How did Rick view his time in high school?
(a) He worked too hard at his job to take time for it.
(b) He wasted it.
(c) He learned a lot from it.
(d) He worked hard at it.

3. What was the house like that Rick's father brought them to when Rick was six years old?
(a) Big but decrepit.
(b) A mansion.
(c) Small, but in good shape.
(d) Just big enough for all of them.

4. Who came to the city auditorium to talk to the white people of the county?
(a) George Wallace.
(b) John F. Kennedy.
(c) Richard Nixon.
(d) Albert Brewer.

5. When did the boys stop fighting with each other?
(a) When one of them gets hurt.
(b) When momma yells.
(c) When momma cries.
(d) When momma hits them with a hickory branch.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reason did grandpa Charlie have for shooting a neighbor woman?

2. What did Rick's father teach him that helped him get to his job as a reporter even though many saw him as a loser?

3. In general, how did Rick Bragg feel about religion as he always had?

4. Where did Margaret take the children to find "treasure"?

5. What did Aunt Gracie tell the children that the chicken was that was cooking?

Short Essay Questions

1. When did Rick choose to write this memoir and why?

2. Why was Rick one of the usual suspects after a crime was committed, and how did he react to the whole situation?

3. How poor was Margaret while raising her small children?

4. What did the poor black boy bring to Rick's family, and what does Rick think about it now that he is an older man?

5. What was the relationship like between the brothers?

6. What did Rick come to realize at the Fraternity Christmas Party, and how did he feel about it?

7. Why does Rick miss his grandmother's death?

8. Why does Rick say that anyone could write this book? Is that true?

9. What male influence did Rick and his brother's have in their lives?

10. What story did Rick tell about his cowboy boots?

(see the answer keys)

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