Chap 1
The name of the main character and her brother
Marguerite & Bailey
What does Marguerite tell us about Uncle Willie and his disability?
Uncle Willie had been crippled as a child. Marguerite said he sat like a black Z. Uncle Willie also stutters.
Where was Marguerite’s favorite place to be?
The Store.
How does Marguerite feel about her brother?
She says that Bailey was the greatest person in her world. And the fact that he was her brother, her only brother, and she had no sisters to share him with, was such good fortune that it made her want to live a Christian life just to show God that she was grateful.
What were the two commandments of Mrs. Henderson?
“Thou shall not be dirty” and “Thou shall not be impudent”
impudent: not showing respect for another person
Where were Marguerite and her brother going? Who were they staying with?
To Stamps, Arkansas to live with their grandmother and uncle.
Who was Marguerite’s first white “love”?
William Shakespeare.
What was supper in the Store?
Supper in the Store was crackers, onions, and sardines.
Where did Marguerite and Bailey get their meat for the rest of the year?
Bailey and Marguerite got their meat from their smokehouse most of the year. All the neighbors would help each other to slaughter hogs and the quiet cows if they had stopped giving milk.
Where did Marguerite and Bailey go to take a bath? Why didn't she like taking a bath?
Each night in the bitterest winter we were forced to wash faces, arms, necks, legs and feet before going to bed. We would go to the well and wash in the ice-cold, clear water, grease our legs with the equally cold stiff Vaseline, then tiptoe into the house. She didn't like it because in the bitter winter cold, she had to go outside to take a bath.
Why are the main character and her brother going to Arkansas?
Their parents had decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and their father shipped them home to his mother.
What did the grandma say was the reason Uncle Willie was crippled?
She says Uncle Willie had been dropped when he was three years old by a woman who was minding him.
What were Marguerite and Bailey's dirtiest chore?
Marguerite and Bailey’s dirtiest chore was feeding the pigs.
What kind of meat did Mrs. Henderson buy twice a year? Why did she buy this twice a year?
Mrs. Henderson bought liver twice a year because she felt that children should have fresh meat included in their diets.
What did the children come to the store and start doing to Ms. Henderson(the grandma)? How did she react?
She began mocking her. She stood up and sang hymns until they left.
Why did the cotton pickers stop by the store in the mornings?
The cotton-pickers stopped at the store in the morning to pick up food for their lunch and to be picked up to go to the fields.
Why was Marguerite not burned when she jumped toward the stove?
She tried to jump onto the stove to remove the possibility of its remaining a threat. But Uncle Willie held tight to her dress and she only got close enough to smell the clean dry scent of hot iron.
Who were “the boys” that Mr. Steward referred to when he came?
The "boys" were the Ku Klux Klan.
Why did the whites always have fresh meat?
Whites had meat often because they had refrigeration.
How did Marguerite feel about the children taunting Ms. Henderson?
She was upset by it and couldn't believe what the children were saying to Ms. Henderson. She wanted to help, but knew she couldn't because she was told to go inside.
How old was the main character when she arrived in Stamps?
3 years old.
What was the name of the poem that they memorized?
The Creation
Where did the family hide Uncle Willie after Mr. Steward’s visit? Why did they need to hide him?
Uncle Willie was hidden in the potato and onion bins in the Store. They needed to hide him because Mr. Steward told grandma that a crazy person messed with a white lady today and that some of the boys will be coming over there later.
Why could Bailey count on very few punishments, even though he had consistently outrageous behavior?
Bailey was not punished often because he was the pride of the Henderson/Johnson family.
What design did Marguerite make in the dirt/grass, that she showed to Ms. Henderson?
After the children left, Marguerite made a large heart with lots of hearts growing smaller inside, and piercing from the outside rim to the smallest heart was an arrow.