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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. In the morning after finding the city, why does the father step away from the son before he wakes?

2. As the son becomes even colder, what does he ask his father about again?

3. What does the father find at the supermarket that he gives to the son?

4. What do the father and son do after their discovery in the trailer?

5. What does the son think is close by the barn?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe a recurring theme throughout Chapters 16 through 20.

2. Describe how the father restricts the son from his humanitarian instincts.

3. Analyze the son's dream about the toy penguin.

4. Explain how the father demonstrates perseverance in Chapters 16 through 20.

5. Describe what happens when the father and son arrive at the father's old house.

6. Describe the father's belief in God.

7. Explain what the father says about the States road.

8. Give an example of a game that the father and son play together.

9. After traveling through the mountains, explain how the father knows he and his son have reached their destination.

10. Recall a situation in the text that demonstrates how the son has becomes immune to the sight of death.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The father insists that there are good and bad guys in the world, leading the reader to believe a "bad" group of people are responsible for the destruction. How are good people set apart from bad people in the story? What are the major characteristics that good people have that bad people don't? How does the father distinguish between the good and bad people?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the theme of reliance in The Road.

Part 1) What does reliance mean? What are some examples of reliance from the book?

Part 2) What does the father rely on the son for?

Part 3) Discuss how reliance can be a good and bad thing.

Essay Topic 3

Explore the theme of death in The Road. How are the father and son dealing with the thought of death? How does the son's view of death compare to the father's? Is the son naive about death?

(see the answer keys)

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