A Year Down Yonder

Arriving in Grandma’s town from Chicago, Mary Alice must adjust to a rural landscape and culture much different from the ones she knows. How does Mary Alice’s understanding of small-town life change over the course of the novel? How does her relationship with the natural world change as well?

Both the American Legion Auxiliary and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are organizations founded to honor veterans of American wars. In Peck’s novel, however, the local chapter of the lineage-based DAR is portrayed much differently from the ladies of the Legion Auxiliary. Compare and contrast the two, as well as Grandma’s attitude toward each.

Mary Alice states that, to Grandma, Halloween is about “vittles and vengeance,” though “she’d have called it justice” (38). Discuss Grandma’s use of food and drink throughout the novel as methods of both dispensing justice and settling scores.

One way in which Grandma goes against the grain in her town is by redistributing wealth in small ways, from the wealthy or selfish to those who are more in need. How does Grandma get away with her unorthodox behavior, and why does the town accept her in spite of it? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

Analyze the novel’s depictions of the advantages and disadvantages of rural life. Contrast these points with the pros and cons of urban life. What are some good things about the intimacy of small rural towns, as implied by the novel? In what ways does Mary Alice prefer it to her life in Chicago?

Discuss the novel’s use of the Burdick family as foils to Grandma. Although Grandma disparages the Burdicks for their morals, particularly their thievery, she also takes things that do not belong to her, a contradiction that troubles Mary Alice at first. How are Grandma’s actions different than the Burdick family’s actions? What does the novel reveal with their juxtaposition?

At first, Mary Alice sees Grandma as unfeeling and aloof, without “a hug in her” (5). How does her opinion of Grandma change over the course of the novel? Cite some examples of how Grandma refuses to make a show of her warm feelings and good deeds, including those that directly impact Mary Alice.

Mary Alice begins the novel as relatively shy and unassuming, quite unlike her unruly grandmother. Trace the change and development of Mary Alice’s character under Grandma’s tutelage. How do Grandma’s boldness and mischievousness gradually rub off on her?