Free Printable "Marigolds" Quiz

Worksheets

"Marigolds" Quiz

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 11mins

Name

Class

Date

How does the protagonist change as a result of the happenings in Miss Lottie's yard?

She becomes more angry and bitter about the poverty in her community.

She becomes wiser and more compassionate because she realizes that Miss Lottie is just a sad, old woman.

She becomes very confused about her place in the world and in her family because of what happened to Joey.

She becomes braver and angrier because she felt empowered and emboldened by destroying something.

Reread paragraph 3 of the text. Then, answer the multiple choice questions. (3) I suppose that futile waiting was the sorrowful background music of our impoverished little community when I was young. The Depression that gripped the nation was no new thing to us, for the black workers of rural Maryland had always been depressed. I don't know what it was that we were waiting for; certainly not for the prosperity that was "just around the corner," for those were white folks' words, which we never believed. Nor did we wait for hard work and thrift to pay off in shining success, as the American Dream promised, for we knew better than that, too. Perhaps we waited for a miracle, amorphous in concept but necessary if one were to have the grit to rise before dawn each day and labor in the white man's vineyard until after dark, or to wander about in the September dust offering one's sweat in return for some meager share of bread. But God was chary with miracles in those days, and so we waited—and waited. Based on context clues in the passage, what is most likely the meaning of the word impoverished?

rural

tight-knit

poor

isolated

What evidence from the text supports your answer for the previous question?

“But God was chary with miracles in those days, and so we waited—and waited.”

"...for the black workers of rural Maryland had always been depressed."

"Perhaps we waited for a miracle..."

"little community"

What can the reader mainly infer from the following passage (paragraph 22)? (22) For some perverse reason, we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful; they said too much that we could not understand; they did not make sense.

The children decide to destroy the marigolds because Miss Lottie has become arrogant and proud.

The children change their minds about destroying the marigolds.

The children hope that the beauty of the marigolds will bring them good luck.

The children hate the marigolds because they cannot understand or appreciate the flowers’ beauty.

What does Lizabeth’s parents’ interaction in the middle of the night mainly reveal about Lizabeth’s father?

He does not think men should be the providers.

He is a proud and frustrated man who does not want to accept help from other people.

He is hopeful that the family will experience a financial miracle.

He thinks that his wife should stop working for Mr. Ellis.

Reread paragraphs 42 and 43 of the story. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow. (42) “Damn, Maybelle”—and suddenly he sobbed, loudly and painfully, and cried helplessly and hopelessly in the dark night. I had never heard a man cry before. I did not know men ever cried. I covered my ears with my hands but could not cut off the sound of my father’s harsh, painful, despairing sobs. My father was a strong man who could whisk a child upon his shoulders and go singing through the house. My father whittled toys for us, and laughed so loud that the great oak seemed to laugh with him, and taught us how to fish and hunt rabbits. How could it be that my father was crying? But the sobs went on, unstifled, finally quieting until I could hear my mother’s voice, deep and rich, humming softly as she used to hum to a frightened child. (43) The world had lost its boundary lines. My mother, who was small and soft, was now the strength of the family; my father, who was the rock on which the family had been built, was sobbing like the tiniest child. Everything was suddenly out of tune, like a broken accordion. Where did I fit into this crazy picture? I do not now remember my thoughts, only a feeling of great bewilderment and fear. Which textual evidence would best support a reader’s claim that the conversation between Lizabeth’s parents disrupts her sense of belonging?

I did not know men ever cried.

I covered my ears with my hands but could not cut off the sound of my father’s harsh, painful, despairing sobs.

Everything was suddenly out of tune, like a broken accordion. Where did I fit into this crazy picture?

My father whittled toys for us, and laughed so loud that the great oak seemed to laugh with him

Which word means "not strong or well made; likely to break"?

adolescence

innocence

poverty

rickety

Which word means "a strong feeling of sympathy for people or animals who are suffering and a desire to help them"?

compassion

innocence

poverty

shanty

Which word means "the time in a person’s life when they develop from a child into an adult"?

compassion

adolescence

innocence

poverty

10.

Which character had "A voice like a cool, dark room in summer"?

Maybelle (Lizabeth's mother)

Lizabeth's father

Miss Lottie

John Burke

11.

Which character could be found "rocking in a chair in a mindless stupor"?

Joey

John Burke

Lizabeth

Lizabeth's father

12.

Who is the antagonist in the text?

Lizabeth

Miss Lottie

Joey

Mr. and Mrs. Ellis

13.

Based on the last three paragraphs of the text, which statement would the narrator most likely agree with?

People need to find small pleasures to give them hope when life becomes too painful to endure.

Children growing up in extreme poverty tend to remain innocent until an older age than most other kids.

The harder children’s lives are, the more likely they are to show respect for the other people suffering around them.

Poor children are just as afraid of witches as children who grow up in much wealthier families.

14.

Which event is the climax of the story?

The children throw stones at Miss Lottie's marigolds.

Joey says there's no more green locusts to find.

Lizabeth awakens in the night to hear her parents discussing money problems.

Lizabeth returns to Miss Lottie's and destroys her marigolds.

15.

Which part of a story describes the characters and setting?

exposition

rising action

falling action

resolution

16.

Which event happens in the falling action of the story?

Lizabeth awakens in the night to hear her parents discussing money problems.

Lizabeth is a fourteen year old girl growing up in rural Maryland.

Miss Lottie is not angry because her marigolds are already gone.

Lizabeth yells a chant at Miss Lottie calling her a witch.

17.

What is a protagonist?

the character who opposes the main character

the main character of the story

an extra character who interacts with the main character

an omniscient narrator

18.

Which word means "the state of being poor"?

ramshackle

rickety

poverty

adolescent

19.

Which character "loves two things: her son and her marigolds"?

Lizabeth

Maybelle (Lizabeth's mother)

Miss Lottie

Mrs. Ellis

20.

Which description below matches the setting of the story?

A late summer day in urban Texas during the Roaring 1920s

A late summer day in rural Maryland during The Great Depression

A cold winter day in rural Delwaare during the 1950s

A beautiful autumn day in rural Tennessee during the 1990s

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"Marigolds" Quiz

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 11mins

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