Podcast
Questions and Answers
Why did the grandmother want to record the starting mileage of the trip?
Why did the grandmother want to record the starting mileage of the trip?
- To track the car's maintenance schedule.
- To determine the exact arrival time at their destination.
- To calculate the total fuel cost for the journey.
- She thought it would be interesting to note the miles traveled. (correct)
What detail in the passage suggests the grandmother values appearances and social status?
What detail in the passage suggests the grandmother values appearances and social status?
- Her insistence on driving through Tennessee.
- Her concern about the cat being left alone.
- Her sitting in the back seat between the children.
- Her attire, chosen to ensure she would be recognized as a lady in case of an accident. (correct)
What can be inferred from John Wesley's and June Star's comments about Georgia and Tennessee?
What can be inferred from John Wesley's and June Star's comments about Georgia and Tennessee?
- They harbor negative feelings towards these states. (correct)
- They are proud of their Southern heritage.
- They are reciting information learned in school.
- They have a sophisticated understanding of regional geography.
What does the grandmother's concern about the cat potentially brushing against the gas burners reveal about her character?
What does the grandmother's concern about the cat potentially brushing against the gas burners reveal about her character?
How does the author use descriptive language to create a sense of place in the passage?
How does the author use descriptive language to create a sense of place in the passage?
Which of the following best describes the relationship between the grandmother and the children, John Wesley and June Star?
Which of the following best describes the relationship between the grandmother and the children, John Wesley and June Star?
Why does the grandmother caution Bailey about the speed limit?
Why does the grandmother caution Bailey about the speed limit?
What does the line, "The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled," suggest about the setting?
What does the line, "The trees were full of silver-white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled," suggest about the setting?
What detail reveals Red Sammy Butts' character and the state of his business?
What detail reveals Red Sammy Butts' character and the state of his business?
How does June Star's interaction with Red Sam's wife contribute to the story's themes?
How does June Star's interaction with Red Sam's wife contribute to the story's themes?
What does the grandmother's reaction to "The Tennessee Waltz" reveal about her character?
What does the grandmother's reaction to "The Tennessee Waltz" reveal about her character?
How might Red Sammy's statement, "You can't win," be interpreted in the context of the story?
How might Red Sammy's statement, "You can't win," be interpreted in the context of the story?
What is the likely reason for the author including the detail about Teagarden's Coca-Cola stock?
What is the likely reason for the author including the detail about Teagarden's Coca-Cola stock?
What contrast is emphasized by positioning the chained monkey outside The Tower?
What contrast is emphasized by positioning the chained monkey outside The Tower?
What does the description of Red Sam's physical appearance suggest about his character or circumstances?
What does the description of Red Sam's physical appearance suggest about his character or circumstances?
How does the setting of The Tower, described as "part stucco and part wood filling station and dance hall," contribute to the story's atmosphere?
How does the setting of The Tower, described as "part stucco and part wood filling station and dance hall," contribute to the story's atmosphere?
What does The Misfit instruct Hiram and Bobby Lee to do?
What does The Misfit instruct Hiram and Bobby Lee to do?
What is the significance of the grandmother's hat falling to the ground?
What is the significance of the grandmother's hat falling to the ground?
How does Bailey react when The Misfit instructs him to go into the woods?
How does Bailey react when The Misfit instructs him to go into the woods?
What does The Misfit say about why he and his companions are wearing borrowed clothes?
What does The Misfit say about why he and his companions are wearing borrowed clothes?
What is the primary reason the grandmother tells The Misfit that she knows he is a good man?
What is the primary reason the grandmother tells The Misfit that she knows he is a good man?
The Misfit says his daddy claimed he was a different breed of dog from his siblings because...
The Misfit says his daddy claimed he was a different breed of dog from his siblings because...
What is the significance of Bailey shouting, "I'll be back in a minute, Mamma, wait on me!"?
What is the significance of Bailey shouting, "I'll be back in a minute, Mamma, wait on me!"?
What does the grandmother's reaction to Bailey's departure into the woods reveal about her character?
What does the grandmother's reaction to Bailey's departure into the woods reveal about her character?
What detail suggests Bailey is experiencing significant distress following the car accident?
What detail suggests Bailey is experiencing significant distress following the car accident?
Why did the grandmother dramatically wave her arms when she saw the car approaching?
Why did the grandmother dramatically wave her arms when she saw the car approaching?
The description of the car as a 'big black battered hearse-like automobile' creates a mood of...
The description of the car as a 'big black battered hearse-like automobile' creates a mood of...
What is the cumulative effect of the description of the three men as they exit the car?
What is the cumulative effect of the description of the three men as they exit the car?
What is the effect of the detail that the bespectacled man is wearing tan and white shoes, no socks, and his ankles are red and thin?
What is the effect of the detail that the bespectacled man is wearing tan and white shoes, no socks, and his ankles are red and thin?
The grandmother's feeling that she recognizes the bespectacled man primarily creates a sense of...
The grandmother's feeling that she recognizes the bespectacled man primarily creates a sense of...
How does the author create suspense in the passage?
How does the author create suspense in the passage?
What can be inferred from the children screaming, 'We've had an ACCIDENT!'?
What can be inferred from the children screaming, 'We've had an ACCIDENT!'?
Red Sammy expresses a sense of disillusionment with the changing times. Which statement BEST captures the essence of his lament?
Red Sammy expresses a sense of disillusionment with the changing times. Which statement BEST captures the essence of his lament?
The grandmother attributes the decline of society to Europe. What MOST accurately describes the underlying sentiment of her statement?
The grandmother attributes the decline of society to Europe. What MOST accurately describes the underlying sentiment of her statement?
When Red Sammy says, 'A good man is hard to find,' what is the MOST likely implication, considering the context of the story?
When Red Sammy says, 'A good man is hard to find,' what is the MOST likely implication, considering the context of the story?
The grandmother recalls a plantation with 'six white columns' and 'an avenue of oaks.' What does this memory MOST likely represent in the context of the story?
The grandmother recalls a plantation with 'six white columns' and 'an avenue of oaks.' What does this memory MOST likely represent in the context of the story?
What does The Misfit claim happened to his father?
What does The Misfit claim happened to his father?
The monkey in the chinaberry tree is described as 'busy catching fleas on himself and biting each one carefully between his teeth as if it were a delicacy.' What is the MOST probable purpose of this imagery?
The monkey in the chinaberry tree is described as 'busy catching fleas on himself and biting each one carefully between his teeth as if it were a delicacy.' What is the MOST probable purpose of this imagery?
What does Red Sammy's act of extending credit to strangers at his gas station MOST likely reveal about his character, despite his later disillusionment?
What does Red Sammy's act of extending credit to strangers at his gas station MOST likely reveal about his character, despite his later disillusionment?
What is the significance of the yellow shirt with bright blue parrots that Bobby Lee brings?
What is the significance of the yellow shirt with bright blue parrots that Bobby Lee brings?
What does The Misfit say about crime and punishment?
What does The Misfit say about crime and punishment?
The grandmother's and Red Sammy's conversation contains consistent references to a perceived decline in moral values and societal safety. Which of the following statements BEST summarizes their shared perspective?
The grandmother's and Red Sammy's conversation contains consistent references to a perceived decline in moral values and societal safety. Which of the following statements BEST summarizes their shared perspective?
What does The Misfit ask the children's mother?
What does The Misfit ask the children's mother?
The woman's statement, 'It isn't a soul in this green world of God's that you can trust,' MOST strongly suggests what about her?
The woman's statement, 'It isn't a soul in this green world of God's that you can trust,' MOST strongly suggests what about her?
What is June Star's reaction to being asked to hold hands with Bobby Lee?
What is June Star's reaction to being asked to hold hands with Bobby Lee?
What is the grandmother's initial reaction when left alone with The Misfit?
What is the grandmother's initial reaction when left alone with The Misfit?
What does the grandmother repeatedly say to The Misfit as she attempts to find her voice?
What does the grandmother repeatedly say to The Misfit as she attempts to find her voice?
What is The Misfit's response to the grandmother's repetition of "Jesus"?
What is The Misfit's response to the grandmother's repetition of "Jesus"?
Flashcards
The Tower
The Tower
A roadside stop owned by Red Sammy Butts, known for its barbecue.
Red Sammy Butts
Red Sammy Butts
The owner of The Tower, known for his barbecue and distinctive appearance.
"The Tennessee Waltz"
"The Tennessee Waltz"
A popular tune that made the grandmother want to dance.
Grandmother's disposition
Grandmother's disposition
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June Star's talents
June Star's talents
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June Star's Rejection
June Star's Rejection
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Red Sammy's Lament
Red Sammy's Lament
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Grandmother hisses
Grandmother hisses
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Hoarsely
Hoarsely
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Clattering
Clattering
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Designed
Designed
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Dramatically
Dramatically
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Automobile
Automobile
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Hearse
Hearse
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Expressionless
Expressionless
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Embossed
Embossed
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Grandmother's attire
Grandmother's attire
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Trip's Mileage
Trip's Mileage
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Speed Limit Warning
Speed Limit Warning
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Scenery Details
Scenery Details
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John Wesley's opinion on Georgia
John Wesley's opinion on Georgia
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June Star's agreement
June Star's agreement
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Kerchief
Kerchief
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Organdy
Organdy
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Better Times
Better Times
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Blaming Europe
Blaming Europe
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The Misfit
The Misfit
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Plantation Memory
Plantation Memory
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Wooden Trellis Arbors
Wooden Trellis Arbors
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Cat Naps
Cat Naps
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Youthful Visit
Youthful Visit
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Grandmother's Plea
Grandmother's Plea
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The Misfit's Self-Assessment
The Misfit's Self-Assessment
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Family Predicament
Family Predicament
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Bailey's False Bravado
Bailey's False Bravado
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March to the Woods
March to the Woods
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False Reassurance
False Reassurance
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Confrontation
Confrontation
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Escaped Clothes
Escaped Clothes
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The Misfit's Claim
The Misfit's Claim
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The Misfit's Philosophy on Crime
The Misfit's Philosophy on Crime
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The Parrot shirt
The Parrot shirt
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Taken to the Woods
Taken to the Woods
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June Star's Insult
June Star's Insult
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Grandmother's 'Jesus'
Grandmother's 'Jesus'
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The Misfit on life
The Misfit on life
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Grandmother's Voice
Grandmother's Voice
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Study Notes
Story Introduction
- The grandmother attempts to manipulate her son Bailey into taking the family to Tennessee instead of Florida.
- She does this by highlighting news about The Misfit, an escaped criminal heading towards Florida
Characters Introduced in the Car
- Bailey: The grandmother's son, he is traveling to Florida with his family.
- The Grandmother: An older woman who is self-centered and manipulative.
- John Wesley: The eight-year-old son who argues with his grandmother.
- June Star: The young daughter who is sassy and often disrespectful.
- The Children's Mother: She is quiet and largely ignored.
- Pitty Sing: The grandmother's cat, secretly smuggled in a valise.
Road Trip and Encounters
- The grandmother dresses formally to ensure that anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know that she was a lady.
- The grandmother recalls a story about a suitor, Edgar Atkins Teagarden, who brought her watermelons with his initials.
- The family stops at The Tower, a barbecue restaurant run by Red Sammy Butts, a veteran.
- Red Sammy and the grandmother discuss how people are not as nice as they used to be.
- The grandmother brings up the escaped criminal, The Misfit, and Red Sammy's wife speculates that he might come to their place.
The Plantation House
- The grandmother persuades Bailey to take a detour to find an old plantation she remembers, claiming it has a secret panel.
- The grandmother's valise moves, causing the cat to jump onto Bailey's shoulder, leading to a car accident on a dirt road.
- The grandmother realizes that the house she remembered was actually in Tennessee, not Georgia.
Arrival of the Misfit
- Three men arrive in a hearse-like automobile led by a bespectacled man.
- The grandmother recognizes the man as The Misfit, an escaped criminal.
- The Misfit acknowledges that it would have been better if the grandmother had not recognized him.
Conversations and Moralizing
- The Misfit tells the grandmother and children to sit down and insists on order
- The grandmother insists that The Misfit is a good man and must come from nice people.
- The Misfit says that God made a finer woman than his mother, and his daddy had a heart of pure gold.
Violence
- The Misfit takes Bailey and John Wesley into the woods.
- The grandmother tries to appeal to The Misfit's sense of morality, stating that he shouldn't call himself The Misfit.
- The Misfit recounts his life, including being a gospel singer, serving in the army, and being wrongly sent to the penitentiary for killing his father.
Death and Aftermath
- Gunshots are heard from the woods.
- The Misfit says that Jesus showed everything off balance by raising the dead.
- He recounts his time in prison and his inability to remember what crime he committed.
- The Misfit states that the crime does not matter because eventually one will forget doing it, and just be punished.
- The Misfit has Bobby Lee and Hiram take the mother and baby into the woods.
- Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother continues to try to persuade him to pray. The Misfit notes that nobody could ever give the undertaker a tip.
- There are two more pistol shots, and she calls out for Bailey.
- The Misfit states that Jesus shouldn't have raised the dead because it showed everything off balance.
- The grandmother recognizes that The Misfit is one of her own children and touches him. Then The Misfit springs back and shoots her three times.
- The Misfit says that the grandmother would have been a good woman if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.
- He concludes that there is no real pleasure in life.
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