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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 bites the narrator during his stay in Honolulu?

2. How far away from Honolulu is the big island of Hawaii?

3. Where is the narrator giving a lecture when he encounters the highway bandits?

4. How many temples does the narrator see in the City of Refuge?

5. According to the narrator, what is one of the hottest places in the world?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the City of Refuge?

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

4. What difficulties does the narrator have in finding stories to write?

5. What are the two different reasons that both the narrator and Higbie abandon their blind lead claim, and what is the result?

6. Why is finding a good horse a difficult task in Hawaii?

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

8. How does the narrator describe San Francisco?

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

10. How does the narrator describe Mono Lake?

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

Analyze the historical significance of Roughing It by explaining the value and uniqueness of the first hand account being provided. In your analysis, answer the following questions: What are the most significant events that the narrator witnesses? How is the process of silver mining described? What are the "flush times" and how do they affect the narrator and other people living in the West? What other changes have a big impact on Western life? In what way does the media contribute to the actions of the narrator and other would be miners? How does the information in the book support Twain's intentions of writing it as stated in the Prefatory?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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