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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 have Kesey and the Pranksters moved to?

2. What keeps the Pranksters together?

3. What does Wolfe compare Kesey and the Pranksters to?

4. What kind of shoes do the Pranksters hate the most?

5. Kesey says he wants everyone to do their thing and be Pranksters, but he also wants them to be:

Short Essay Questions

1. Does Wolfe think the Merry Pranksters are odd?

2. After everything Wolfe had heard and researched about Kesey, when he finally meets him in jail, what does Kesey stress the most?

3. Why do the Leary followers dislike the Pranksters?

4. Describe Wolfe's initial meeting with Kesey.

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

6. What happens when Kesey and Kerouac meet?

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

8. Why does Kesey refuse to tell people that they should STOP taking LSD?

9. After Stark Naked goes mad and has to leave the group, the purpose of the trip and the documentary become clearer. What is that purpose?

10. Describe the state of mind and general condition that leads Sandy to take the Unauthorized Acid:

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

Do you think the mixed, almost bad reviews of Sometimes a Great Nation hurt Kesey? Or did he sincerely believe that the bus was a new art form? What does he mean when he points to the bus and suggests it's a totally new art form?

Essay Topic 3

What was Kesey's aim with the Acid Test? Do you think he articulated what he wanted to do when he meant turning the world onto LSD? Did he achieve anything through it? Or, was it just a reason to get high and party with others on LSD?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 834 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample