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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 does the end of Chapter 13 say that Mudder goes through life doing?

2. How many daughters does the bespectacled, mocking police justice say that Mudder has a record of ruining?

3. What is Pete doing as he polishes the beer glass behind the bar?

4. When Maggie asks "Who?" as she wanders, who tries to answer her question?

5. At the beginning of Chapter 12, what is the ballad singer wearing?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Jimmie and his companion get Pete's attention after they sit down at the bar?

2. Describe the decor of the saloon where Pete works as a bartender.

3. Compare Pete's attitude toward Nellie to Maggie's attitude toward Pete.

4. As the fight between Jimmie and his companion and Pete progresses, a beer glass is thrown. What happens next?

5. Why is Mudder raving when Jimmie finally comes home after his saloon fight?

6. Compare the attitude of the Rum Alley tenement crowd toward Maggie with the attitude Maggie had toward the "painted" women in Chapter 12.

7. What is the state of the apartment when Jimmie arrives home in Chapter 10?

8. How does Nellie's attitude toward Pete in Chapter 18 reflect a sort of poetic justice?

9. What are the true motives of the women surrounding Pete at the saloon in Chapter 18?

10. What are the women in the dark hallway saying as Jimmie passes them on his way out to find Pete?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, Maggie is rejected by friends and strangers alike. Select three of the following characters and discuss in detail the ways and reasons they rejected Maggie:

A) Mudder.

B) Jimmie.

C) Pete.

D) The Rum Alley neighbors.

E) The stout, well-dressed gentleman in Chapter 16.

F) The tall young man with a cigarette in Chapter 17.

Essay Topic 2

In the early chapters of the book, we see the disciplinary styles of both Mudder and Fader. How do we see these things reemerge in the adult lives of Jimmie and Maggie? Cite at least four specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Maggie emerges into young adulthood as the indisputable beauty of Rum Alley. The "philosophers" of Rum Alley debate how Maggie underwent such a dramatic physical transformation. They also discuss her beauty in terms of its potential consequences. Is Maggie's beauty an asset or a liability for her? Support your answer with evidence from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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