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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. Of what descent does the narrator say that Billie's friend is?

2. What does the narrator tell Billie he's afraid to do in Chapter 31?

3. What had the narrator fed the fish in Chapter 32?

4. What does the narrator liken riding in the jeep to in Chapter 33?

5. Whose house does Billie's friend take the narrator to in Chapter 28?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jack do once Billie has left for work in Chapter 27? Who does he meet?

2. What does Cody propose to Jack in Chapter 24 regarding Willamine?

3. Where does the group stop on their way to the cabin in Chapter 33? Why?

4. What events trigger Jack's agitation in Chapter 21?

5. What spiritual or religious imagery is presented in Chapter 36 in relation to Jack's state of mind?

6. What childhood memory returns to Jack in Chapter 22?

7. What does Jack suggest to Billie regarding their relationship in Chapter 31?

8. How does Jack describe the inner world of his alcohol-laced madness in Chapter 21?

9. What does Jack compare the visions he sees in Chapter 37 to?

10. Where does Perry take Jack in Chapter 28? What is his experience there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Kerouac's use of metaphor, simile and personification in the novel. What effect does the author create with this technique?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss and describe the foreshadowing which Kerouac used in Big Sur. How overt is his use of foreshadowing? What are his intentions with this technique?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the settings which are established in Big Sur. What are the major contrasts between the city and the country in this novel and what effect do those contrasts have on Jack?

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