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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 many temples does the narrator see in the City of Refuge?

2. What does the narrator examine for an hour in a mine in order to write an article?

3. According to the information in Chapter LXIII, how many people live in Honolulu?

4. How many times does Bill Nookes attempt to climb aboard Captain Ned Blakely's boat?

5. When does the narrator's party leave for Mono Lake?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the process of mining silver and shipping it to California in 1865?

2. How does the narrator describe the trip from Hawaii to San Francisco and what is his situation once he arrives there?

3. How long is the narrator's trip, and what does he conclude at the end of the story?

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

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

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

7. What is the Whiteman Cement Mine and why is it considered to be elusive?

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

9. How does the narrator describe Mono Lake?

10. Who is Higbie, and why is he valuable for the narrator's search of Mr. Whiteman?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mr. Whiteman is the elusive subject of another plan to strike it rich by the narrator.

1) Describe the background of Mr. Whiteman and why it is believed that he can lead people to a gold mine.

2) Describe Mono Lake and the narrator's experiences there. Include what the lake represents in the theme of the narrator's quest for fortune.

3) Explain how the author successfully introduces events surrounding a character that never appears.

Essay Topic 2

Describe Mark Twain's objectives of writing Roughing It. Use the information in the Prefatory to explain his reasons for chronicling his adventures and the style he intends to use in the book. Then, provide examples that display how Twain accomplishes his objectives on multiple levels.

Essay Topic 3

The beginning of the narrator's trip is a preview of the events that lie ahead for him as well as the overall tone of the book.

1) Describe the events that cause the narrator to travel to the West, including the anticipated length of the trip.

2) Explain the limitations of space and amenities on the mail coach that the narrator rides on and how that parallels one of the story's themes.

3) Describe some of the ironic situations or setbacks that the narrator encounters in the initial chapters and how they establish the author's tone in the book.

(see the answer keys)

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