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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 does the father do to the son after they come upon the thing in the doorway?

2. Along the road, the father and son come upon a man -- what is wrong with the man?

3. After the father and son make cakes, where do they sleep for the night?

4. Near the edge of a city, the father and son come to a house -- what does the father find inside the house?

5. The father and son come to a stone wall -- what is hanging from the wall?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the theme of extinction or "the end of the world." How has near extinction caused humans to act in The Road? Would people really react this way? What are signs that the earth has been mistreated? Are there any signs that the earth is healing itself?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Examine the theme of overprotection in the book and how it pertains to the father and son's relationship. Is the father's overprotection justified or needless?

(see the answer keys)

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