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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 do Sal, Dean, and Marylou drop Alfred off?

2. Why does the travel bureau car's owner need his car driven to Chicago?

3. Where do Sal and Dean clean up in Chicago?

4. What does Sal do in Texas to get money to buy gas?

5. What do Sal and Dean discuss while traveling from Sacramento to Denver?

Short Essay Questions

1. What arrives in San Francisco that allows Sal to return to New York?

2. What happens when Sal and Dean return the travel bureau car in Chicago?

3. What happens when Dean returns to see Sal at the hotel?

4. Why does Dean want to take the trip with Sal and Stan?

5. What place do Dean and Sal plan to travel to where they have never been before?

6. What does Sal do to put a damper on the friendship with Dean and Camille?

7. What does Dean's cousin, Sam Brady, tell Dean when he was attempting to locate his father in Denver?

8. What is the dream that both Sal and Dean have about driving?

9. What does Camille do to Dean and Sal in the spring of 1949?

10. Why are the car owner and the couple all too happy to drop Sal and Dean off in Denver?

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

Sal has views about different groups who were marginalized in mid-20th century America. What are his views on these groups? Are there any differences among categories of people? If so, why? Cite specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Friends play a significant role in Sal Paradise's life.

a. As a result of a rift among his friends, Sal is torn between the more established and secure types, like Chad King, and the more frenzied Dean Moriarty and Carlo Marx. How does being torn between friends represent Sal's inner conflicts between being established or rebellious?

b. How do relationships with friends function in Beat culture?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 594 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample