How We Analyze A Long Way from Chicago

By Student World

The narrative covers the time period between 1929 and 1942. There are altogether eight highly engaging episodes, or short stories.

It is a kind of humorous novel that describes the annual summer trips that a boy and his sister make to rural Illinois where their eccentric grandmother, Grandma Dowdel, lives. They see and experience several things during their trips to rural Illinois.

The character of Grandma is larger than life, twice as entertaining. The book definitely follows the grand storytelling tradition of American humorists, beginning with Mark Twain and leading up to Flannery O’Connor.

How We Analyze A Long Way from Chicago
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Major Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Dec 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370709212

Book preview

How We Analyze A Long Way From Chicago

Copyright

How We Analyze A Long Way From Chicago

Student World

Copyright@2016 Student World

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Content

How We Analyze A Long Way from Chicago

Copyright

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Chapter Three: Major Characters

Chapter Four: Complete Summary

Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

Chapter One: Introduction

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck was first published in 1998. It is a novel in stories or a kind of short story cycle. The book was the winner of the Newberry Honor in the following year.

The narrative covers the time period between 1929 and 1942. There are altogether eight highly engaging episodes, or short stories.

It is a kind of humorous novel that describes the annual summer trips that a boy and his sister make to rural Illinois where their eccentric grandmother, Grandma Dowdel, lives. They see and experience several things during their trips to rural Illinois.

The character of Grandma is larger than life, twice as entertaining. The book definitely follows the grand storytelling tradition of American humorists, beginning with Mark Twain and leading up to Flannery O’Connor.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel, brother and sister, are sent to stay with their grandmother, Grandma Dowdel, each summer for a week. Besides seeing the regular rural places and things, they do experience a little bit different during their trips.

Grandma Dowdel is a different character, a kind of larger than life figure, highly authoritative and dominating on several occasions.

The novel is set during the Great Depression. Each chapter is given to a different year when the brother and sister travel by train to see their eccentric and huge grandmother who is mostly referred to as Grandma Dowdel throughout the novel.

When they visit her the first summer, Grandma Dowdel holds a wake for a dead townsman. There are several reporters at the wake to report on the person’s death. Grandma tells them several tall tales to be published in the newspapers.

During their second trip the second summer, the children watch their grandmother catching a group of hooligan boys who have been doing all sorts of mischief and blowing up outhouses. Grandma calls their parents and the boys find themselves in deep trouble with their father.

When they visit their grandmother the third summer, Grandma takes the children with her to steal the sheriff’s boat. They