Maud Martha is both the title and the heroine of Pulitzer-prize winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks’ memorable

Question

work of fiction. The book is actually a novella composed of vignettes, or sketches, of Maud Martha, her family
and friends, and the marriage she enters into as a young woman. Maud grows up in the Chicago of the 1940s. In
the story you are about to read, Maud’s family awaits the return of the family patriarch, who has gone to town to
apply for a loan so that the family will not have to give up their home.
1 What had been wanted was this always, this always to last, the talking softly on this porch, with the
snake plant in the jardiniere in the southwest corner, and the obstinate slip from Aunt Eppie’s magnificent
fern at the left of the friendly door. Mama, Maud Martha, and Helen rocked slowly in their rocking chairs,
and looked at the late afternoon light on the lawn and at the emphatic iron of the fence and at the poplar tree.
These things might soon be theirs no longer. Those shafts and pools of light, the tree, the graceful iron, might
soon be viewed possessively by different eyes.
2 Papa was to have gone that noon, during his lunch hour, to the office of the Home Owners’ Loan. If he
had not succeeded in getting another extension, they would be leaving this house in which they had lived for
more than fourteen years. There was little hope. The Home Owner’s Loan was hard. They sat, making their plans.
3 “We’ll be moving into a nice flat somewhere,” said Mama. “Somewhere on South Park, or Michigan,
or in Washington Park Court.” Those flats, as the girls and Mama knew well, were burdens on wages twice the
size of Papa’s. This was not mentioned now.
4 “They’re much prettier than this old house,” said Helen. “I have friends I’d just as soon not bring
here. And I have other friends that wouldn’t come down this far for anything, unless they were in a taxi.”
5 Yesterday, Maud Martha would have attacked her. Tomorrow she might. Today she said nothing. She
merely gazed at a little hopping robin in the tree, her tree, and tried to keep the fronts of her eyes dry.
6 “Well, I do know,” said Mama, turning her hands over and over, “that I’ve been getting tireder and
tireder of doing that firing. From October to April, there’s firing to be done.”
7 “But lately we’ve been helping, Harry and I,” said Maud Martha. “And sometimes in March and
April, and in October, and even in November, we could build a little fire in the fireplace. Sometimes, the
weather was just right for that.”
8 She knew from the way they looked at her, that this had been a mistake. They did not want to cry.
9 But she felt that the little line of white, sometimes ridged with smoked purple, and all that creamshot saffron would never drift across any western sky except that in back of this house. The rain would drum
with as sweet a dullness nowhere but here. The birds on South Park were mechanical birds, no better than the
poor caught canaries in those “rich” women’s sun parlors.
10 “It’s just going to kill Papa!” burst out Maud Martha. “He loves this house! He lives for this house!”
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L6: Citing Evidence to Support Inferences 59
11 “He lives for us,” said Helen. “It’s us he loves. He wouldn’t want the house, except for us.”
12 “And he’ll have us,” added Mama, “wherever.”
13 “You know,” Helen said, “If you want to know the truth, this is a relief. If this hadn’t come up, we
would have gone on, just dragged on, hanging out here forever.
14 “It might,” allowed Mama, “be an act of God. God may just have reached down and picked up the reins.”
15 “Yes,” Maud Martha cracked in, “that’s what you always say—that God knows best.”
16 Her mother looked at her quickly, decided the statement was not suspect, looked away.
17 Helen saw Papa coming. “There’s Papa,” said Helen.
18 They could not tell a thing from the way Papa was walking. It was that same dear, little staccato walk,
one shoulder down, then the other, then repeat, and repeat. They watched his progress. He passed the
Kennedys’; he passed the vacant lot; he passed Mrs. Blakemore’s. They wanted to hurl themselves over the
fence, into the street, and shake the truth out of his collar. He opened the gate and still his stride told them
nothing.
19 “Hello,” he said.
20 Mama got up and followed him through the front door. The girls knew better than to go in too.
21 Presently, Mama’s head emerged. Her eyes were lamps turned on.
22 “It’s all right,” she exclaimed. “He got it. It’s all over. Everything is all right.”
23 The door slammed shut. Mama’s footsteps hurried away.
24 “I think,” said Helen, “I think I’ll give a party. I haven’t given a party since I was eleven. I’d like some
of my friends to just casually see that we’re homeowners.”
Answer the questions.
1 Read these sentences from the story.
These things might be theirs no longer. Those shafts and pools of light, the tree, the
graceful iron, might soon be viewed possessively by different eyes.
How do these details support the idea that the family wants to keep their home?
A They show that the family regrets that others will enjoy these things instead of them.
B They create a gloomy atmosphere that expresses the family’s sadness.
C They give the impression that the garden is too lovely for anyone to own.
D They warn that other people have tried unsuccessfully to purchase the home.
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60 L6: Citing Evidence to Support Inferences
2 This question has two parts. Answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
Part A
How does Mama really feel about moving to the new apartment?
A She thinks it will be a good move for her entire family.
B She believes that her husband will be much happier there.
C She does not think they will be able to afford living there.
D She predicts that no one will visit them if they move there.
Part B
Which sentence from the text best supports the correct answer to Part A?
A “These things might soon be theirs no longer.”
B “‘Somewhere on South Park, or Michigan, or in Washington Park Court.’”
C “Those flats, as the girls and Mama knew well, were burdens on wages twice the size of
Papa’s.”
D “‘And I have other friends that wouldn’t come down this far for anything, unless they
were in a taxi.’”
3 Explain what you can infer about what the house represents to the characters in this story.
Use at least two pieces of direct evidence from the story to support your answer.

Answer 1

1. How do these details support the idea that the family wants to keep their home?
   A They show that the family regrets that others will enjoy these things instead of them.
   The lines indicate that the family has a deep emotional connection to the house and the surrounding environment. The mention of “those shafts and pools of light, the tree, the graceful iron” being “viewed possessively by different eyes” suggests that they do not want anyone else to gain the joy and beauty that they associate with their home.

2. This question has two parts. Answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
   Part A:
   C She does not think they will be able to afford living there.
   This interpretation arises from the context of the conversation where Mama discusses the potential move, indicating that the new apartments are “burdens on wages twice the size of Papa’s,” implying a concern about affordability.

   Part B:
   C “Those flats, as the girls and Mama knew well, were burdens on wages twice the size of Papa’s.”
   This sentence directly supports the idea that Mama is conscious of the financial implications of moving to a new apartment, reflecting her skepticism about the move being viable for their family.

3. Explain what you can infer about what the house represents to the characters in this story. Use at least two pieces of direct evidence from the story to support your answer.
   The house represents stability, comfort, and emotional security for the characters. Firstly, Maud Martha expresses a strong emotional tie to the house when she says, “He loves this house! He lives for this house!” This demonstrates how much the home means to her father and the family as a whole. Additionally, Maud Martha reflects on the unique experiences and memories tied to their house, saying that “The rain would drum with as sweet a dullness nowhere but here.” This indicates that the house is not only a physical structure but also a place filled with irreplaceable moments and a sense of belonging. The house embodies their history and identity as a family, making the potential loss of it deeply impactful.