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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. Do outsiders have any interest in joining the Pranksters?

2. Do the the Merry Pranksters invite or include all LSD users?

3. What is a rule that Kesey establishes for travel?

4. What does Kesey have enameled on one of his teeth?

5. What do people start to call Kesey's La Honda home?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Perry Lane when Kesey and his family return following the publication of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?"

2. Does Wolfe think the Merry Pranksters are odd?

3. What happens to Perry Lane in July 1963?

4. Why do outsiders want to get in with the Pranksters?

5. How is Kesey's second novel, Sometimes a Great Nation, received? How does Kesey react to the reviews?

6. How are the Pranksters and the Angels similar? How are they different?

7. Why do the Prankster feel it's critical not to talk about their experience on the trip?

8. What happens to the Pranksters after people hear more about their big weekend with the Angels?

9. At this point, are the Pranksters losing sight of their vision? Why or why not?

10. By the end of the Unitarian conference, the younger Unitarians are so taken with the Pranksters, what do they do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the recurring themes in this story is control. Specifically, Kesey's need to have control of the Pranksters and the situations in which he found himself. Starting with the bus, which was apparently Babb's original idea, how does Kesey continually assert his control over the group? Why do you think he needs this control? What does it say about him?

Essay Topic 2

Ultimately, what was it about LSD that captivated so many people, especially during the 1960s? Do you think that people really emerged more enlightened after trying the drug?

Essay Topic 3

In the chapter "Cloud," we see the business side of LSD. How are Owsley and the Mad Chemist different? Is Owsley a visionary? Or is he just a shrewd businessman?

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