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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. What is the father doing at the beginning of Chapter 1?

2. How does the father recognize their destination?

3. After leaving the supermarket, how does the son feel about following the father into the house?

4. After leaving the first location in Chapter 1, what do the father and son turn back to get?

5. What does the father remember about his own childhood?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe how the son is more capable of surviving than his father.

3. Recall what question the son asks the father repeatedly and relate it to the father's coughing fits.

4. Give one example from Chapter 5 that demonstrates how the father is not functioning well psychologically.

5. Describe how the author creates a sparse, bleak feeling at the beginning of the novel.

6. Recall from Chapter 5 what the father remembers his wife telling him about his son.

7. Give an example that demonstrates the father's stubbornness and how he has somewhat lost touch with reality.

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

9. Describe what the father makes for their feet in Chapter 20.

10. Explain what is revealed in Chapter 15 about the father's wife.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

From the very beginning of The Road, the author does not give the father and son names, he gives them the generic labels of "the man or father" and "the boy or son."

Part 1) Why did the author choose not to give his characters names?

Part 2) How do the characters' basic names of "the man" and "the boy" affect the way the reader relates to them?

Part 3) How would the reader view the text if the characters had been given names?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the theme of hope throughout the novel: hope for a better world, hope that there are still good people out there. Give some examples from the text that demonstrate the father and son's hope. How is the story ended with a hint of hope? How can hope for a better tomorrow encourage someone through a hard time?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the theme of survival, citing examples from the text of the different types of survival. Who is more disposed to surviving against the elements -- the father or the son? What motivates the father to survive versus the son

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This section contains 854 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample