View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where do the father and son hide while spying on the people climbing out of a truck?

2. What lands on the son's hand at the end of Chapter 4?

3. The father has a hard time remembering how to play the games -- what does he do?

4. At the end of Chapter 10, what do the father and son find?

5. After looking for things to enhance their cart, what do the father and son do?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe two things that the father and son see along their journey in Chapters 16 through 20.

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

5. Give an example from Chapter 11 where the father demonstrates his love for his son.

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

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

8. Describe the father's belief in God.

9. At the beginning of Chapter 11, describe where the father and son bathe and what they eat for dinner.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The setting in The Road is vital to the whole tone of the story. Analyze the use of setting in The Road.

Part 1) How did Cormac McCarthy describe his setting?

Part 2) How is the setting almost considered a character in the story?

Part 3) Compare the setting of this novel to another novel -- was the setting simple or complex?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the use of description in The Road. Discuss how the author uses narration, dialogue, and imagery to bring his novel to life, citing examples from the text. Compare the description in this novel to another novel the class has read.

Essay Topic 3

Although the landscape and destruction are mentioned, the author never explains what caused the devastation. Explore the cause of this devastation, refer to the clues that are provided to the reader.

• How does the landscape suggest an epidemic -- could it be environmental, caused by man through war, or both?

• Why is it difficult to truly assess the situation of the world, and how is the father an unreliable witness?

• How does not explaining the disaster add to the paranoia and confusion that the reader feels from the father?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,000 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample