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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Whom does Neal Cassady write about visiting in the hospital after a suicide attempt in his letters to Kerouac?
(a) Margaret.
(b) Sarah.
(c) Patricia.
(d) Joan.

2. What is Allen Ginsberg's most famous work?
(a) "Kaddish."
(b) "Song."
(c) "Howl."
(d) "America."

3. What university did William S. Burroughs attend?
(a) Yale.
(b) Columbia.
(c) Harvard.
(d) Rutgers.

4. Who is Neal Cassady known as in On the Road?
(a) Carlo Marx.
(b) Dean Moriarty.
(c) Cody Pomeray.
(d) Jonny Moriarty.

5. Who conceived the Six Gallery reading?
(a) Wally Hedrick.
(b) Jack Kerouac.
(c) Floyd Williams.
(d) Allen Ginsberg.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Gregory Corso born?

2. Who opened the City Lights Bookstore?

3. Where did Allen Ginsberg move in the 1950s?

4. What word does Michael McClure frequently play with in "Peyote Poem"?

5. In what year did Gregory Corso meet Allen Ginsberg?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some examples of religious allusion in "Howl"? What do they represent?

2. Describe the poetry of Gregory Corso, including subject and themes.

3. Who is Micheal McClure? Describe his "Peyote Poem."

4. What repetition is used in the "Peyote Poem"? Why?

5. What does Ann Charters write of the origination of the Beats in the Introduction?

6. Where does Jack Kerouac refer to his own style of writing in "On the Road"? What metaphor does the author make?

7. Who is Kenneth Rexroth? What is his contribution in the anthology?

8. Describe the symbolism in "On the Road" as it relates to the theme of American values. What is an example of Kerouac's metaphor of America?

9. What is Ginsberg's subject in "A Supermarket in America"?

10. Describe Kerouac's depiction of the jazz band in the excerpt from "On the Road." To whom are they compared ?

(see the answer keys)

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