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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. After spending the night in the rain in a field offered by a Peruvian woman, who rescued the author and Weston by driving them to the next town in Chapter 15?

2. What is the elevation of Bogota?

3. What did the author and his friends go on a hunt for across the grocery stores of Puno in Chapter 17?

4. For how long did the author and Weston stay in Cusco?

5. How many miles did the author have to go on his journey, as indicated in the opening of Chapter 19?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the author's perceptions of Weston when he used cocaine?

2. How is the Darien Gap described?

3. What happened when the indigenous woman showed Weston and the author a remote camping spot in Chapter 15?

4. Why did tensions begin mounting between the author and Weston in Chapter 15?

5. Who is Kelley and what were the author's feelings about her when she visited?

6. How did the author and Weston cross the Darien Gap?

7. How did the author culminate his journey?

8. What did the author learn about the buildings in Panama City in Chapter 11?

9. How old was Harry Devert when he went missing? Where did he go missing?

10. Why did Weston say he regretted doing the cocaine in Chapter 12?

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 analyze three examples of metaphor or similes in To Shake the Sleeping Self. What is being compared? How does this comparison affect you as a reader? Why is this example noteworthy?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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