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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who says "Find a way to make people bored with hating instead of helping"?

2. What do James and Charles discuss with William?

3. What does William name his truck for his journey across America?

4. What happens to William's van on the campus of East Carolina University?

5. Who is Claude Tyler?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does William name his van "Ghost Dancing"?

2. Describe what William learns about Cajun music while in Louisiana.

3. Describe William's dinner at Swamp Guinea's Fish Lodge.

4. Is William able to find anyone to talk with in the Hopi Indian reservation?

5. What does William tell the reader about the Natchez Trace Parkway?

6. What is William's experience when he jumps into Hat Creek to wash up?

7. What does William learn from meeting James Walker and Charles Davis?

8. Who surprises William in Portal Paradise?

9. What figure in history is Dare County, North Carolina, named after?

10. What are blue highways?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are blue highways? Why did William choose these roads to travel across America? What does he mean when he says that the a man can lose himself on these highways in a metaphorical sense?

Essay Topic 2

What Indian history does William learn about during his journey? Why are the Hopi Indians reluctant to talk with William when he is on the reservation? How does he learn about Hopi ways from Kendrick Fritz in a non-Indian setting?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the symbolism of William's van, Ghost Dancing. Why does he give this name to his van? What does it represent to him?

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