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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 does Steinbeck think about as he packs the camper?

2. In this book, Steinbeck's style is neither ______________ in nature nor completely ________________.

3. What is unusual about the inn Steinbeck finds?

4. What happens to delay Steinbeck's plans?

5. To what two cities does Steinbeck often fly?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is so depressing about Steinbeck's stop in Bangor?

2. How does Steinbeck communicate in the book?

3. What urge has Steinbeck felt all his life?

4. Explain the irony in the scene in which Steinbeck discusses politics with the egg farmer.

5. What causes Steinbeck's wife, Elaine, to shout at him?

6. What is Steinbeck's purpose for taking this trip?

7. What misgivings does Steinbeck experience as the day of his departure approaches?

8. Why does Steinbeck decide not to take a human traveling companion?

9. Why does Steinbeck ignore his doctors' advice following an illness the previous year?

10. What is ironic about Steinbeck being an American writer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain why one of Steinbeck's New York friends had asked Steinbeck to bring back any honest men Steinbeck found on his trip. What was the state of the economy, the government, etc. in America in 1960 that could have benefited from authentic, honest men? Do you think Steinbeck ever found anyone who would have qualified? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

What lessons about bureaucracy does Steinbeck learn at the U.S.-Canadian border? What are Steinbeck's opinions about governments, their laws and the people they put in place to enforce them? How does Steinbeck separate his hate for governments from his love for countries?

Essay Topic 3

Explain some of the examples of regionalism found in the book. Can regionalism include more than accents and food? What else encompasses the culture and personality of a region? What are the major differences Steinbeck finds as he travels from place to place?

(see the answer keys)

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