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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 does Rooster tell LaBoeuf to go and tell about the Texas Ranger troop instead of him and Mattie in Chapter 6?

2. After their argument in Chapter 4, Mattie says of Ranger LaBoeuf, “He was angered and thus he left me, clanking away in all his” what?

3. Of what does Ranger LaBoeuf say in Chapter 4 that it “is sordid and dangerous and is best left in the hands of men who know the work”?

4. Who is the first person Rooster Cogburn recognizes hiding in the dugout in Chapter 6?

5. Where in Texas did Tom Chaney presumably kill a Texas senator?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Rooster Cogburn’s response when Mattie asks him if he thinks President Hayes will commute Odus Wharton’s sentence in Chapter 5?

2. What does Rooster Cogburn remark about education and the lack of it when Mattie visits him in Chapter 5?

3. What “grub” has Rooster Cogburn brought along for the trip, according to Mattie in Chapter 6?

4. What does LaBoeuf say of the likelihood for the Bibbs family to pay their proposed reward in Chapter 5?

5. What does Mattie do when Rooster Cogburn goes to grab her as they’re arguing about her going on the trip in Chapter 5?

6. How is the photograph described that LaBoeuf shows to Mattie in Chapter 4? How does she respond?

7. How does Mattie describe the pony she picks out to purchase at Stonehill’s barn in Chapter 5? What does she remark about his legs?

8. What is Mattie’s reply when LaBoeuf asks her who she has hired to hunt down Tom Chaney in Chapter 4?

9. What obstacles does the snow present as Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf travel in Chapter 6?

10. What news of Lucky Ned’s gang has Rooster Cogburn learned from Bagby in Chapter 6?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the characters of Bagby, his wife, and the two teenagers at the store in Chapter 6. What does Mattie remark about the religion of the Indian wife? How does this encounter change Mattie’s views of the Indians? How does this setting differ from that of Fort Worth or Mattie’s homestead? What are her impressions of this place?

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 racial relations in the United States following the Civil War. How are these race relations illustrated in True Grit? How does Mattie’s relationship with and behavior toward Yarnell Poindexter differ from how he is treated by other white characters in the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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