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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. About how old does Mattie describe Rooster Cogburn as in Chapter 3?

2. How much does the shipping cost to send Mattie’s father to Dardanelle in Chapter 2?

3. Who does the sheriff name as the best tracker and a half-breed Comanche in Chapter 2?

4. How old is Mattie Ross when she leaves home to avenge her father’s murder in the novel?

5. Mattie says of her father in Chapter 1, “His head was full of” what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. How do Mattie and Yarnell travel to Fort Smith in Chapter 2? How is the journey described?

5. How is Yarnell Poindexter described in the novel? Why does he accompany Mattie in Chapter 1?

6. How is the narrative of True Grit related? Is the story told in first, second or third person? In what tense is the story told?

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

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

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

10. What are the last words of the first man executed in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the language style and dialect in True Grit. How do you relate to the style of speech of the characters? Do you feel this style of dialect realistically reflects the time and place of the story? How?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the history of hanging and capital punishment in the United States, particularly in the South, during the late 1800s. What was the largest mass hanging in the U.S.? When did the last execution by public hanging take place? How common were occurrences such as the public hanging in Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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