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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. Where does Sal go with Babe Rawlins in a mining town outside of Denver?

2. What does Hyman Solomon offer Sal, Dean, and Ed Dunkel?

3. Who is "The Ghost?"

4. Who thinks Sal should not travel out West?

5. Which of the flat bed truck riders stays with Sal in Cheyenne?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What happens to Sal, Dean, Marylou, and Ed Dunkel in Washington, D.C.?

3. What does Old Bull Lee warn Sal about in New Orleans?

4. Who is "The Ghost?"

5. What job does Remi Boncoeur find for, Sal when he arrives in San Francisco?

6. When and where does Sal meet up with Dean after living in Denver?

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

8. Why do Sal and Terry go to Terry's home town of Sabinal?

9. Why does Sal break up with Lucille?

10. What is the wildest ride of Sal's journey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

a. What are Sal and Dean's views on authority and authority figures? How can they live their lives in absence of authority?

b. What are Sal and Dean rebelling against?

c. How do Sal, Dean, and their friends rebel against what they oppose?

Cite specific examples from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

On the Road depicts counterculture in 1950s America.

a. How do the main characters exemplify counterculture in the novel?

b. Why were they considered counterculture at the time?

c. Would they still be considered counterculture today?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 607 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample