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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. Although they have no food and all they eat is snow, what does the father continue to tell the son?

2. At the beginning of Chapter 36, how many days has it been since the father and son have eaten?

3. What does the father find inside the barn that he eats?

4. What does the son do while at the location after the gas station?

5. What does the father say when he and his son enter the hidden cellar?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Give an example from Chapters 21-25 that shows the father's mistrust.

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

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

5. Describe three things that the father and son find of use in Chapters 36-40.

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

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

8. Describe how the father treats the old man that he and the son meet in Chapter 31.

9. Describe one example from Chapters 36-40 that demonstrates how the father is becoming more reliant on the son's opinion.

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

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 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?

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