Study Questions
1. How did the neighbors react to the deaths of Mavis’ twin babies?

2. What event surprised Mavis as much as it surprised everyone else?

3. How many times had Mavis been a patient at the County Hospital, and how many of those times were for childbirth?

4. What information from Mavis deeply disturbs her mother, Birdie Goodroe?

5. On what does Mavis get drunk when her car runs out of gas?

6. What are some of the unusual details about Connie?

7. What food does Connie offer Mavis? Does Mavis eat the food?

8. Why does Connie think that shelling pecans is a good job for Mavis?

9. What is the population of Ruby, according to the sign Mavis sees?

10. What did Mavis dream about the night after she first met Mother?

Answers
1. The neighbors seemed pleased when the babies died.

2. The event that surprised Mavis as much as it surprised everyone else was Mavis’ stealing the Cadillac.

3. Mavis had been a patient at the County Hospital 15 times; 4 of them were for childbirth.

4. The information from Mavis that deeply disturbs Birdie Goodroe is Mavis’ assertion that her family is trying to kill her.

5. When her car runs out of gas, Mavis get drunk on the Old Times whiskey her husband left in the car.

6. Some of the unusual details about Connie are: her hairstyle (described as Hiawatha braids), her fondness for aviator sunglasses, and her direct, almost brusque way of speaking.

7. Connie offers Mavis a potato, and Mavis, despite her nausea, eats and enjoys it.

8. Connie says that shelling pecans is a good job for Mavis, because Mavis has the perfect fingers and fingernails to do the job right and get the nut meat out whole.

9. According to the sign that Mavis sees, the population of Ruby is 360.

10. The night after she first met Mother, Mavis had a dream in which a lion cub attacks and eats her. The lion cub in this dream had blue eyes, just like Mother’s eyes.