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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. With whom did the producers of the television show send Jack out after his performance?
(a) A prostitute.
(b) A Hollywood starlet.
(c) A Hollywood agent.
(d) The host of the show.

2. What is the name of the bridge where the cab drops off Jack in Chapter 3?
(a) Raton Bluff.
(b) Raton Canyon.
(c) Tuscan Canyon.
(d) Big Sur.

3. What is the name of the pet mule of the local settlers in the book?
(a) Alf.
(b) Robert.
(c) Jojo.
(d) Bingo.

4. What does the narrator compare the black rocks to in Chapter 4?
(a) Castles.
(b) Vultures.
(c) Prisons.
(d) Snakes.

5. Who arrives after the gang at the cabin in Chapter 18?
(a) Wagner.
(b) McLear.
(c) Ma.
(d) Pomeray.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Kerouac's fictionalized name in Big Sur?

2. Who is the beatnik painter passed out on the bed in Chapter 1?

3. In the forward to the book, to what writer does Kerouac compare his works?

4. Which author does the narrator say wrote the inanities of the sea because he wasn't going to do it when he's dead?

5. In Chapter 14, which character is described as a strange kid from Oregon with hair like Raul Castro?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the description of the boarding house where his friends live in Chapter 12?

2. What does Jack tell himself and thus do in the beginning of Chapter 3? What does the driver tell him?

3. Who does Jack quote in Chapter 10 as he leaves the cabin? What does he say?

4. How do Buddhist fundamentals relate to Jack's relationship with nature in Chapter 8? How do these change later in the novel?

5. What spurs Jack to believe he is not wanted at the cabin in Chapter 9?

6. What is the purpose of Jack's and Arthur Ma's conversation in Chapter 19?

7. How does Jack describe the nature surrounding him in Chapter 3?

8. How does the protagonist view the cliffs and his surroundings in Chapter 4?

9. What is Jack's initial interaction with the animals around the cabin like in Chapter 18?

10. Who arrives in Chapter 5? How does Jack's perspective change after this visit?

(see the answer keys)

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