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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 does Ray leave his equipment when he hikes back to El Paso in the morning?

2. What is Ray's shadow ringed by one day after a deluge of rain?

3. Who is the character that remains calm throughout the arguments referred to in #130?

4. Ray realizes while watching the weather that he doesn't know __________ anymore.

5. How many days has Ray been up at Desolation Peak?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ray realize during one of his meditations he is empowered to do?

2. How does Ray get from El Paso to Los Angeles?

3. What does Ray hear Japhy wants to do with his life at this time?

4. What is the vision Ray has in the fog while at Desolation Peak?

5. What does Japhy's father do when he arrives at the party for Japhy's going away?

6. Describe Rhoda's fiance as Ray sees him at their first meeting.

7. What does Rheinhold Cacoethes do during the going away party for Japhy?

8. What does Ray realize as he settles into his position in the middle of the woods?

9. How does Ray get from Los Angeles to San Francisco as he searches for Japhy's shack?

10. What do Ray and Japhy do when they begin to get bored of the party?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At times, Ray seems to be almost a student of Japhy's, listening to everything he says and watching everything Japhy does.

Part 1: What does Ray want to learn from Japhy at the beginning of the manuscript?

Part 2: Is Japhy comfortable with the role of being a teacher? Why or why not?

Part 3: What does Japhy have to learn from Ray, as the story progresses?

Essay Topic 2

The theme of simplicity is another obvious idea that is tested and acknowledged as the story continues.

Part 1: What are Ray's ideas about simplicity? What are Japhy's ideas about simplicity?

Part 2: What are some examples of Ray and Japhy's adherence to simplicity?

Part 3: Why is living simply preferable to living any other way, according to these characters?

Essay Topic 3

The idea of sexuality is one that is explored at different points of the story, but Ray's own feelings about sexuality seem to be conflicted.

Part 1: How does Ray respond to the idea of the yabyum idea? Does his reaction seem to fall in line with its definition or with his own sense of lust and longing?

Part 2: Ray seems to practice celibacy in most of the story, preferring to avoid sexual contact altogether. Is this a moralistic choice of a defense mechanism? Why do you say what you do?

Part 3: What does the story as a whole seem to say about sex? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? Spiritual? Abhorrent?

(see the answer keys)

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