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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. By what nickname does Mattie refer to Texas in Chapter 1?

2. How much money does Mattie tell Colonel Stonehill that she wants for “Papa’s saddle horse that was stolen” in Chapter 3?

3. Approximately how much is the charge for embalming and the coffin for Mattie’s father in Chapter 2?

4. In his court testimony in Chapter 3, Rooster Cogburn states that he has been a U.S. marshal for almost how many years?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the prisoners described that are to be hung in Chapter 2?

2. What leads to Mattie’s disappointment when she speaks with the deputy marshal at the Federal Courthouse in Chapter 3?

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

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

5. What does Mattie say in regards to the innocence or evil of animals in Chapter 3?

6. How does Mattie Ross describe Tom Chaney in Chapter 1?

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

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

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

10. How does Mattie describe Stonehill’s stock barn 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

Discuss the establishment and history of the Indian Nation in Oklahoma. How vast was the Indian Territory that constituted Oklahoma and parts of the surrounding states at this time? By 1907, when Oklahoma was admitted as a state, Indian Territory ceased to exist. How was the Territory defined in the 1870s in the story?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Colonel Stonehill in True Grit. Why is Colonel Stonehill reluctant to make a deal with Mattie? How does Mattie effectively press Stonehill in order to obtain her objectives? How does the character of Stonehill change in the course of the narrative?

(see the answer keys)

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