View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does the narrator mention as a negative part of Van Culture?

2. When the narrator imagines a future archaeological dig at a lost city, what does he think the rediscovered city will be called?

3. What is the narrator's brother's name?

4. How is the Johnson Smith catalog distributed?

5. How did the narrator arrive at the correct answer to the equation in front of the Algebra class?

Short Essay Questions

1. Define a BNA and cite some supporting examples.

2. What was the worst case scenario of a BNA?

3. What ironies does the narrator point out in the actuality of camper and van usage as opposed to the typical perceptions of the vehicles?

4. Who is Howard and why is he so depressed about the word "lemon"?

5. What prompts the narrator to think of the Johnson Smith catalog?

6. What prompts the narrator's memory about the great ice cream war?

7. What prompts the narrator to think about advertising and a future archaeological dig where New York City is excavated?

8. What scenario does the narrator imagine in which archaeologists discover television advertising and what are their perceptions of it?

9. Why does the narrator focus on TV commercials as a true reflection of American society?

10. What is the imaginary Sociology lecture the narrator gives on car culture and describe the differences between the Camper Crowd and Van people.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain some of the examples of regionalism found in the book. Can regionalism include more than accents and food? What else encompasses the culture and personality of a region? What are the major differences Shepherd found as he traveled from place to place?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Shepherd's writing style. How is he different from other writers of his time? What are some of his characteristic writing techniques? Identify some examples of his classic style in this book.

Essay Topic 3

Create a "character" sketch of the state of New Jersey. What personality shines through for you for this state? Did Shepherd make you want to learn more and perhaps visit one day? What would you most like to see? What is the one fact or interesting feature that you can recall about New Jersey? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,151 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample