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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 swim out to inspect while the son stays on the beach?

2. Why does the father not want to stay in the hidden cellar?

3. While the father has another coughing fit, what does he think about?

4. Before leaving the house and barn, the father and son collect more _______ before they head back on the road.

5. The father and the son are becoming increasingly weak, and they sleep in the woods -- what does the father do while the son is asleep?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what things the father and son find while at the beach in Chapter 40.

2. Explain how the son begins questioning his father's judgment in Chapters 26-30.

3. Give an example from Chapters 26-30 of where the author uses foreshadowing.

4. Recall an example from Chapter 31 that demonstrates how the father is dealing with the son growing up.

5. Explain why the son returns to the fearful version of himself in Chapter 36, and use an example from the text.

6. Describe three things that the father finds in Chapters 21-25 that he finds useful.

7. Explain what happens in Chapter 35 that finally makes the father realize that the son is growing up.

8. Explain why the father gives the son a gun after they see the people walking towards the house.

9. Analyze how the son feels about he and his father's changing relationship in Chapter 40, citing an example from the text.

10. Analyze the son's reaction when, in Chapters 36-40, he realizes that the father is becoming more reliant on his opinion.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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