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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 personal news does Dean share with Sal and Stan in Part 4?

2. What is Dean's job in San Francisco?

3. What news does Dean share with Stan and Sal while in Mexico?

4. What does Dean do while Camille is at work?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Sal and Dean have their first argument at a restaurant in Denver. What is the argument about?

2. What decision did the other passengers override Sal and Dean on in Sacramento?

3. How do Sal, Dean, and Marylou get money so they can make it from Arizona to California?

4. What does Old Bull think is a sign from Sal's father?

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

6. How does a wealthy woman assist Sal in Denver?

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

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

9. What happens to Stan on the way to Mexico?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

a. Why is being on the road so important to the Beat Movement?

b. What transformations or epiphanies do the following characters have, if any, after being "on the road"? Cite specific examples from the book.

- Sal Paradise

- Dean Moriarty

- Ed Dunkel

- Stan Shepherd

Essay Topic 2

Sal and Dean mention finding "IT" throughout the novel

a. How do Sal and Dean define "IT"?

b. Do they ever find "IT"?

c. Do you think that "IT" has religious or spiritual undertones? Why or why not?

Cite specific examples from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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