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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Steinbeck forced to turn back?
(a) Charley gets sick on a trail.
(b) Charley reacts violently to the sight of bears.
(c) It starts to get dark.
(d) Steinbeck twists his ankle on a trail.

2. What commotion has erupted in the city where Steinbeck stops?
(a) The dock workers are on strike.
(b) Angry crowds denounce the desegregation of a grade school.
(c) The local electrician's union is on strike.
(d) The buses are running late today.

3. Which author wrote that you can't go home again?
(a) Thomas Wolfe
(b) F. Scott Fitzgerald
(c) John Steinbeck
(d) T.S. Eliot

4. What impresses Steinbeck at the rest stops?
(a) The dog walking areas
(b) The friendliness of other travelers
(c) The really clean facilities
(d) The variety of goods in the vending machines

5. Where does Steinbeck go to reminisce with an old friend?
(a) The ballgame
(b) Johnny Garcia's bar
(c) Fishing
(d) Church

Short Answer Questions

1. What crime does the U.S. Customs Officer accuse Steinbeck of committing?

2. What does Steinbeck exclude from the novel?

3. Where does Steinbeck head after spending the night among the sequoias?

4. According to Steinbeck, what do people living in a bland world crave?

5. In what city in North Dakota does Steinbeck stop?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Steinbeck believe in what author Thomas Wolfe meant when he wrote, "You Can't Go Home Again?"

2. How does Steinbeck diffuse a father and son fight when he rents a cabin one night?

3. What philosophical thoughts does Steinbeck have when he passes into Idaho?

4. Describe Lonesome Harry.

5. What effect is the Cold War having on average Americans?

6. How does Steinbeck perceive Seattle?

7. What is the purpose of Steinbeck's stop in Texas?

8. What two national attractions does Steinbeck visit before leaving Montana?

9. Explain how the Badlands are a study in opposites.

10. Explain the irony in the scene where Steinbeck and Charley explore a sequoia grove.

(see the answer keys)

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