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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. Where in Louisiana does Ranger LaBoeuf say Tom Chaney dallies before turning up at Mattie’s father’s place in Chapter 4?

2. 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”?

3. Rooster Cogburn learns from the storekeeper that Lucky Ned Pepper had been seen three days earlier where in Chapter 6?

4. Colonel Stonehill tells Mattie in Chapter 5 that Rooster Cogburn “rode by the light of the moon with Quantrill and” who?

5. Mattie tells Ranger LaBoeuf in Chapter 4 that “the good people of Arkansas do not go easy on men who abuse” what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does Rooster Cogburn give Mattie for why she cannot accompany him on his mission in Chapter 5?

2. What opinions does Mattie assert regarding prohibition in Chapter 4?

3. What are the boys doing outside the store when Mattie, LaBoeuf, and Rooster arrive in the beginning of Chapter 6?

4. What is Colonel Stonehill’s demeanor like when Mattie goes to see him with the paperwork in the beginning of Chapter 5?

5. What does Rooster do to the boys and mule when Mattie, LaBoeuf, and Rooster arrive at the store in Chapter 6?

6. 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?

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

8. What is Rooster Cogburn’s response when he hears of the reward offered for Tom Chaney by the state of Texas?

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

10. How is the “dugout” described when Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf arrive there 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 history of hanging and capital punishment in the United States, particularly in the South, during the late 1800s. What was the largest mass hanging in the U.S.? When did the last execution by public hanging take place? How common were occurrences such as the public hanging in Chapter 2?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Mattie Ross’s depiction of Tom Chaney in True Grit. How does Mattie describe Chaney’s appearance? What does she say of his background? What feelings does Mattie express for the man who murdered her father? How does the “reality” of Tom Chaney compare to Mattie’s descriptions of him?

(see the answer keys)

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