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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 Mattie say the two policemen at the city police station were doing when she and Yarnell arrived to speak with them in Chapter 2?

2. How much does Mattie pay to stay at the Monarch boarding house per night in Chapter 2?

3. Mattie describes Rooster Cogburn as “an old one-eyed jasper that was built along the lines of” whom, in Chapter 3?

4. Mattie states in Chapter 1 that Tom Chaney said he was from where?

5. Mattie learns at the Federal Courthouse in Chapter 3 that the head marshal has gone where to deliver prisoners to the house of correction?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mattie describe the scene when she arrives at the Federal Courthouse to seek out Rooster Cogburn in Chapter 3? Who is being brought in?

2. What was stolen from Mattie Ross’s father when he was killed?

3. How was Mattie Ross’s father killed in the narrative? Where was he killed?

4. How does Mattie describe the execution of the Indian in Chapter 2?

5. What agreement do Mattie Ross and Colonel Stonehill reach regarding their settlement in Chapter 3?

6. How does Mattie describe the city of Fort Smith upon her arrival in Chapter 2?

7. How does the sheriff describe L.T. Quinn in Chapter 2?

8. What is the principle setting of the story? Where does Mattie’s family live?

9. How does Mattie describe the career of Judge Isaac Parker in Chapter 3?

10. What is revealed of Rooster Cogburn during the trial in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the Harrison Narcotics Law and the Volstead Act. Mattie Ross praises both of these laws in Chapter 4. When were they both enacted? What did the laws entail? What politicians does Mattie Ross discuss in regard to prohibition in Chapter 4? What role did these individuals play historically in prohibition?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the character of Frank Ross in the narrative and describe the circumstances of Frank’s death. How does Mattie describe her father? Do you think they had a close relationship? Do you think that Mattie relates more to her mother or her father? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Mattie Ross’s depiction of Tom Chaney in True Grit. How does Mattie describe Chaney’s appearance? What does she say of his background? What feelings does Mattie express for the man who murdered her father? How does the “reality” of Tom Chaney compare to Mattie’s descriptions of him?

(see the answer keys)

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