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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. What is the name of the character based on Neal Cassady in Go?

2. Who became Allen Ginsberg's lover after his move to California?

3. When did Neal Cassady move to New York and meet Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac?

4. William S. Burroughs' family made a fortune from producing ____________.

5. What is Neal Cassady's mother's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. What religious allusion is used in the poem "Thou Shalt Not Kill"?

2. What is Ginsberg's subject in "A Supermarket in America"?

3. Who is Micheal McClure? Describe his "Peyote Poem."

4. Who is John Clellon Holmes, and what is his impact on the Beat Generation?

5. What political allusions are used in "One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro"?

6. Describe the poetry of Gregory Corso, including subject and themes.

7. Describe John Clellon Holmes' writing style. How does it compare with Kerouac's?

8. What does Kerouac's letter to Neal Cassady reveal about their friendship?

9. What political references are made in the poem "America"?

10. Who is Neal Cassady? How is he introduced in the text?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did the Beat Generation originate? What key figures began the movement? Where did they meet?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of the novel Go and John Clellon Holmes' impact on the Beat Generation. What was the response of the Beats upon Go's publication?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the novel On the Road and its importance to the Beat Generation's philosophies and ideologies. What are the fictionalized names about and "who is who"?

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