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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 did Jack Kerouac attend college?

2. In what year was William S. Burroughs born?

3. Where did the Six Gallery reading take place?

4. The character "Elsie John" in the poem by Herbert Huncke is a __________.

5. When did Neal Cassady's parents divorce?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the subject of "Visions of Cody."

2. Who is Neal Cassady? How is he introduced in the text?

3. What are Herbert Huncke's contributions in the anthology? On what subjects does he focus?

4. Describe Huncke's depictions of sexuality in his work.

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

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

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

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

9. Describe the exposition from the beginning excerpt of "On the Road." Who are the characters introduced?

10. Describe John Clellon Holmes' writing style. How does it compare with Kerouac's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the poet Michael McClure. What are his contributions to the Beat Generation? In what works has he been immortalized?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the novel On the Road and its importance to the Beat Generation's philosophies and ideologies. What are the fictionalized names about and "who is who"?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the works of William S. Burroughs. What common subjects and themes does Burroughs revisit? When did Burroughs begin writing?

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