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A Long Way from Chicago: chapter 1

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  • Where do Joey and Mary Alice live?
    They live in Chicago.
  • What does the word "privy" mean?
    A privy is an outhouse where one can go to the bathroom. It is outside in a small shed.
  • What year does this story take place?
    The year is 1929.
  • Who is the corpse that was found? What was his real name?
    The corpse was Shotgun Cheatham. No one knew his real name.
  • Who knows how Shotgun got his name? What is the story behind his name?
    Grandma knows the story. Shotgun tried to go quail shooting and instead shot a cow. He had a stye in his eye. He was not a good shooter.
  • What do "corpse" and "stiff" mean?
    Both words refer to a dead body.
  • What does "a bunch of hayseeds" mean?
    A group of people from the country who are simple and unsophisticated; the opposite of city people.
  • How do Joey and Mary Alice get to their grandmother's house? Why do they travel this way?
    They take a train by themselves. Their parents do not have a car.
  • What was the name of the local coffee spot?
    The name of the local coffee spot was The Coffee Pot.
  • Describe what Grandma's small town is like.
    It is a rural town with few cars. Most farmers come to town on horses.
  • Who is the narrator of the story? At what stage in life is this person?
    Joe is telling the story when he is older than the age of his Grandma when the story took place.
  • What is a "penitentiary"?
    A penitentiary is a prison.
  • Who is described as being "tough as an old boot'? What does this mean?
    Grandma is "tough as an old boot". Boots are tough and last a long time even when they are old, just like Grandma.
  • The local newspaper did not want to run Shotgun's obituary. What happened instead?
    News reporters came from a bigger newspaper to do a story on him.
  • What are the names of the brother and sister in the book? How old are they in the beginning of the story?
    Joe (Joey)  and Mary Alice Dowdel. Joey is 9 and Mary Alice is 7.
  • What is an "obituary"? 
    An obituary is a notice in the paper that announces the death of a specific person. It describes his or her life
  • What does the expression "concrete shoes" mean?
    The expression "concrete shoes" means that pieces of concrete were tied to a dead body before throwing it in deep water to sink to the bottom.
  • Whose house do Joey and Mary Alice visit each August?
    They visit their grandmother's  house.
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