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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 Grandmother kick?

2. What reason does the Grandmother give for not going to Florida?

3. What does the Misfit say would have happened if the story about Jesus was true?

4. What does Grandmother offer to do to keep them quiet?

5. How does Mother respond to Misfit's offer of joining her husband?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of June Star tap dancing in the restaurant?

2. How does O'Connor express the generation gap between Grandmother and the rest of the family?

3. Describe Misfit's life?

4. In what way does the Grandmother change moments before she dies?

5. In what way does O'Connor present the Grandmother as no better than the Misfit?

6. How is O'Connor's portrayal of a serial killer unconventional?

7. What do you think the children grown up to be like if they had lived?

8. What do you think Misfit's relationship is with women?

9. What do you think is the story's real meaning?

10. Why is Grandmother so delighted that the Misfit suddenly shows an interest in Jesus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

O'Connor uses many similes. What effect do the similes have on the tone of the story? How and when does she use them? Take two examples and imagine similes were not used at that point. How does the story's meaning change?

Essay Topic 2

There is a huge generation gap between the family members in the story. What are the differences between the generations? How does O'Connor show the difference between the generations? Can the family relate to each other?

Essay Topic 3

Grandmother and her son Bailey share a difficult relationship. How does O'Connor express their relationship. What do you think is the history between the two characters? Do you think Grandmother expresses true sorrow at her son's death?

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