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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. How does the narrator describe his trip back to San Francisco?

2. What is the primary content of the Whiteman Cement Mine?

3. How many miles does the narrator travel to the islands of Mono Lake?

4. How is the silver ore melted before it is shipped to California?

5. What is the weather like when the narrator encounters the highway bandits after a lecture?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Nevada change during the flush times, and what are nabobs?

2. What lifestyle does the narrator have in the first few months of his stay in San Francisco, and how does it change dramatically?

3. What is pocket mining and the result of the narrator's attempt at it?

4. What is on the islands in the center of Mono Lake?

5. What is the City of Refuge?

6. How does the narrator describe San Francisco?

7. How long does the narrator stay in Hawaii, and in what way does the author's literary tone change in these chapters?

8. How does the narrator describe Mono Lake?

9. What happens when the narrator encounters a band of highway bandits after a lecture?

10. How does the narrator describe Hawaii and what initial setback does he encounter there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A two-day visit to Salt Lake City gives the narrator a chance to analyze the lifestyle of the Mormons.

1) Describe how the narrator views the Mormons, the way he approaches his analysis of them, and why.

2) Explain the different cultures that the Mormons have during the 1800s and the reasons for them.

3) Describe 3 examples that the author uses to depict the Mormons' philosophy and way of life, along with the conclusion he makes for each example.

Essay Topic 2

Describe Higbie's character in detail, including his background and main attributes. Also, analyze the decisions made by both the narrator and Higbie to abandon their blind lead claim. What is the major difference in the two decisions and how does it define each character? Provide examples from the book to explain the possible reasons for why the author chooses to include Higbie in the book's dedication instead of some of the other characters he meets during his journey, such as Captain John Nye.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the contrast between Carson City and Lake Tahoe. What are the narrator's experiences in both places? Why does he choose to spend time in Lake Tahoe, and what are some of the ways it provides what the city cannot? How does Twain's description of Lake Tahoe illustrate his writing talent? Which events in both Lake Tahoe and Carson City display the main theme of the narrator's trip, and why?

(see the answer keys)

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