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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 is the city of Rotterdam, cited in Corso's "Vision of Rotterdam"?

2. Who is the author of the poem "Plus Ca Change"?

3. Where did Allen Ginsberg grow up?

4. In "One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro," Ferlinghetti is convinced that Castro's cause is ___________.

5. What is the title of Neal Cassady's unfinished autobiography?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe William S. Burroughs' style in "Naked Lunch."

2. 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?

3. What political allusions are used in "One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro"?

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

5. What do Cassady's letters to Kerouac reveal about him?

6. What biographical facts are mixed up in Kerouac's "On the Road"? What details are omitted?

7. Who is Lawrence Ferlinghetti? What is his role in the Beat movement? What is his poem "Dog" about?

8. What does Ann Charters write about Carl Solomon in his biographical information? What is his work about?

9. What political references are made in the poem "America"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the New York School of Poetry? When did it originate? Who were the key members? How does it relate to the Beat Generation?

Essay Topic 2

How did the Beat Generation originate? What key figures began the movement? Where did they meet?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Lawrence Ferlinghetti's role within the Beat Generation. Where is Ferlinghetti based? What is his style of writing?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 850 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample