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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 comes flapping around the narrator in Chapter 37?

2. What color eyes does Billie have?

3. How old is Pat McLear's daughter who accompanies him in Chapter 23?

4. Who owns the bath house in Chapter 21?

5. Who makes jokes to cheer everyone up in Chapter 36?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What moment of hope does Jack have in Chapter 32?

3. What leads Jack to go for Cody's suggestion in Chapter 24?

4. What do Jack and Billie talk about in Chapter 34? What realization does he have in this chapter?

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

6. What is Jack awaiting in Chapter 31? What takes place in the conversation between Jack and Billie here?

7. What does Jack reveal through exposition regarding Cody and Evelyn in Chapter 23?

8. What is the initial meeting of Jack and Billie like in Chapter 26?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the ethics and philosophies of the Beat Generation as illustrated in the novel Big Sur.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the value of things in Jack's mind. How did the Beatnik ideals differ from those in mainstream society during this era? What is more important: a sink scourer or a nice suit?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the literary allusions in the book. What poets, authors, and thinkers does the narrator read, quote from, and discuss? What do these lead the reader to understand?

(see the answer keys)

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