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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. At about what elevation is Mexico City, according to the author in Chapter 8?

2. What does the author describe eating at an overpriced dinner near Hearst Castle in Chapter 3?

3. What are the "alien-looking trees" that began to appear on the landscape in central Baja (88)?

4. What does the name Jedidiah mean in Hebrew, according to the author?

5. Where did the author's friend Jason make a documentary about that had become a big deal when he offered the author a job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information does the author relate about the Mayan calendar in Chapter 8?

2. What did Linda remark about Weston's behavior?

3. What language barriers did the author face on his journey?

4. How did the author self-protect as he grew up?

5. What does "Warm Showers" refer to in the book?

6. How do Mexicans view their history differently than Americans, according to the author in Chapter 8?

7. What was Jed's family like growing up? How would you describe his parents' relationship?

8. How does the author describe his name and its history in the Prologue?

9. How did the author's journey start out? What did he struggle with?

10. What does the author write about travel in his opening Prologue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What led Weston to depart from the journey? Did the author provide foreshadowing for this event? How did Weston's departure from the journey change the narrative? How did it influence the mood and themes of the work?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of sexuality in To Shake the Sleeping Self. How does the author identify in terms of sexual preference? What history does he relate regarding his sexuality? How do his perceptions of sexuality change in the course of the narrative?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's relationship with his mother. How does the author describe his mother? Were they close when the author was growing up? How has their relationship changed? Why has it changed?

(see the answer keys)

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