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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 "Path of Peace"?

2. How long does William drive without seeing a single town west of Eldorado, Texas?

3. Why does William Least Heat-Moon decide to go on a driving trip across America?

4. What does Mr. Watkins call his dog?

5. What does William think of Dime Box, Texas?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the reaction when William orders a chocolate milkshake near Frenchman, Nevada?

2. What causes William to travel across America?

3. Describe William's dinner at Swamp Guinea's Fish Lodge.

4. When does William begin to question his plan to travel across America?

5. What history does William learn when he visits Ninety Six, South Carolina?

6. How does William feel about having dinner with his cousin in Shreveport?

7. Describe William's encounter with Porfirio Sanchez.

8. What does William learn from meeting James Walker and Charles Davis?

9. What do Barbara Pierre and William talk about over lunch?

10. What happens when William sleeps in his van on the campus of East Carolina University?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does William think about the desert of the southwest? What does he say about solitude during this part of his trip? How does the hitchhiker Porfirio provide him with company? Provide specific examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the changes William encounters in Newport and Quonset, Rhode Island. Why is he so irritated with these changes? Why does he feel like history is being replaced with things that are unimportant?

Essay Topic 3

What are blue highways? Why did William choose these roads to travel across America? What does he mean when he says that the a man can lose himself on these highways in a metaphorical sense?

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This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample