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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. After leaving the cart in a parking lot, where do the father and son walk to?

2. After finding their destination, what does the father wish he had for their cart?

3. After leaving the city, what direction do the father and son head?

4. What does the father claim could happen to himself and his son if they get wet?

5. How does the father recognize their destination?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how food is constantly a struggle, comparing how the father and son manage their food.

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

3. Explain why the father is so overprotective of the son.

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

5. Explain what the father does in Chapters 11-15 that accentuates his paranoia, citing an example.

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

7. Explain how the author's descriptions and use of language set the tone for the rest of the novel.

8. Explain why it is difficult for the reader to truly assess how bad things are in the world.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In The Road, the cities are deserted or destroyed, plant life is gone, animals have disappeared. Something catastrophic has happened to the world. Examine the conflict of Person vs. Nature, citing examples from the text that demonstrate how the characters are up against the forces of nature.

Essay Topic 2

The father always puts the son's needs before his own, as he wants so desperately for his son to have a better life. Examine the theme of love in the The Road.

Part 1) What does having unconditional love mean?

Part 2) How does his love for his son cause him to make rash decisions?

Part 3) Compare the father's love for his son to the son's love for his father.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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