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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 movie enterprise did Weston tell the author he was not a fan of in Chapter 7?

2. Where had Andrew been a schoolteacher before he biked across the country?

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

4. Who is described as Miguel's light-skinned and smart daughter in Chapter 5?

5. Where did the author attend college and help a friend with a studen film?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the author's parents do that was similar to his journey?

2. Who is Miguel and how did the author encounter him?

3. What does "xenophobia" mean and how is it illustrated in the book?

4. How does the young brain differ from the adult brain, according to the author in the Prologue?

5. Where did the author work before he began his journey?

6. What bolstered Weston's and Jenkins's sense of comraderie in Chapter 6?

7. How does the author describe the last conversation he had about his sexuality with his mother in Chapter 8?

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

9. How is Weston described?

10. What prompted the author to take his journey across the Americas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the setting where the author began his journey. Why did he choose this setting? How is the setting described? What were his perceptions of this setting as the journey began?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss three examples of symbolism in To Shake the Sleeping Self. What does the object/person/setting represent? What mood is evoked through this example of symbolism? Why is it important?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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