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

2. What animals does Mattie say in Chapter 3 are “all wicked, though often useful”?

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

4. What newspaper does Mattie mention that publishes a delinquent tax list every year in Chapter 3?

5. The gold pieces that Mattie’s father carried in his clothes were a wedding gift from Mattie’s grandfather named what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mattie describe Stonehill’s stock barn in Chapter 3?

2. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Ranger LaBoeuf in True Grit. What does LaBoeuf tell Mattie he wants to do about the criminal Tom Chaney? How long has LaBoeuf been following the murderer? Why does Mattie not want any involvement with LaBoeuf in tracking down the murderer?

(see the answer keys)

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