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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. When the father and son stop for the night after leaving the hidden cellar, what does the son ask the father?

2. After they leave the men on the road, why does the son ask the father if he is dying?

3. How are the father and son feeling when they leave the hidden cellar?

4. What does the old man that the father and son met on the road say to the father before he leaves their camp?

5. Near the tool shed, the father uncovers a locked trap door to a hidden cellar -- how does the son react?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe what the father and son find in Chapter 35 that symbolizes the end of the son's innocence.

3. Describe how the author generates credibility to the father's paranoia about the world.

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

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

6. Describe what the father and son find in Chapter 21 after the father breaks open a locked pantry door.

7. Give an example from Chapters 21-25 that describes the son's naivety.

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

9. Describe how the father makes lamps before he and the son enter the hidden cellar.

10. In Chapter 26, describe the son's reaction when the father loses their lighter and cannot make a fire.

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

The father insists that there are good and bad guys in the world, leading the reader to believe a "bad" group of people are responsible for the destruction. How are good people set apart from bad people in the story? What are the major characteristics that good people have that bad people don't? How does the father distinguish between the good and bad people?

Essay Topic 3

Explore the use of foreshadowing in the novel and analyze how it affects the story. How has this technique affected the plot of the story? Cite examples from the text to support your argument.

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