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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 is the name of the cat where Rooster Cogburn lives in Chapter 3?

2. Who does Mattie share a room with at the Monarch boarding house in Chapter 2?

3. How many men does Rooster Cogburn claim to have killed in his years as a U.S. marshal in Chapter 3?

4. Mattie says in Chapter 3, “You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except” what?

5. Where does Mattie tell Rooster Cogburn her mother’s family lives in Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mattie describe the setting of the hanging 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. How was Mattie Ross’s father killed in the narrative? Where was he killed?

4. How does Colonel Stonehill describe the plight of the U.S. marshal when he hears of Mattie’s story in Chapter 3?

5. 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?

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

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

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

9. 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?

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

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

Define and analyze the narrative style of True Grit. Is the story related in past, present, or future tense? Who is the narrator? Why do you think the narrator chose this point of view? How would the story differ if the narrative style changed?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and analyze the character of Mattie Ross as the protagonist of the novel. How old is Mattie when she is retelling the story? How old is Mattie within the story? What characteristics make Mattie stand out as a protagonist?

(see the answer keys)

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