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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. Why do Sal and Dean take a quick trip from Virginia to New Jersey?

2. Who is accompanying Dean on his trip to Virginia?

3. What job does Dean find after Sal first meets him in New York?

4. Which of Sal's friends stayed with Sal's aunt while he was away?

5. After Sal leaves Terry, he rides a bus from Los Angeles to which city?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sal want to leave Denver?

2. Who do Dean, Marylou, and Ed Dunkel leave in Tucson and why?

3. What do Sal, Ray Rawlins, and others do in an old mining town outside of Denver?

4. What favor does Remi ask Lee Ann before he moves out of their house?

5. Why doesn't the driver offer Sal any food on his trip from Pittsburgh to New York?

6. What does Sal find out when he calls Chad King after he arrives in Denver?

7. What are Sal's living arrangements while he is in Denver?

8. What is the vow Sal and Terry make when Sal leaves for New York?

9. How does Sal react after he introduces Dean Moriarty to Carlo Marx?

10. Why does Sal stop in Cheyenne instead of continuing to Los Angeles with the two brothers from Minnesota?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the time it was published, On the Road was considered rebellious and obscene. It also exalts criminals, swindlers, drifters, and drug users.

a. What does Sal Paradise find so appealing about the characters and situations he encounters? Why?

b. What distinction would Sal make between being a criminal and having a zest for life, if any?

Cite examples from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

There are conflicting views about Dean Moriarty. One is that he has a zest for life and the other is that he is crazy. What is your opinion on these views?

Support your answer with specific evidence from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Dean Moriarty is a criminal who is at times wild and erratic, and who sometimes abandons wives and friends at his convenience.

a. Why are so many people attracted to him?

b. What qualities does Dean Moriarty have that makes Sal see him as a "holy saint"?

c. Are these qualities central to what it means to be "beat"?

Cite specific examples from the book to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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