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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. Who makes breakfast for the group in Chapter 21?

2. What does the narrator see in a vision in Chapter 37?

3. At what time do the narrator and his friends arrive at Cody's in Chapter 33?

4. What does the narrator liken riding in the jeep to in Chapter 33?

5. Where does the narrator tell Billie she should go in Chapter 35?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Jack reveal through exposition regarding Cody and Evelyn in Chapter 23?

2. What does Jack write of his wishes for Cody to be a writer in Chapter 25?

3. Where does Perry take Jack in Chapter 28? What is his experience there?

4. How does Jack describe the inner world of his alcohol-laced madness in Chapter 21?

5. Where does the group stop on their way to the cabin in Chapter 33? Why?

6. What does Jack do once Billie has left for work in Chapter 27? Who does he meet?

7. What does Jack compare the visions he sees in Chapter 37 to?

8. What childhood memory returns to Jack in Chapter 22?

9. What does Cody propose to Jack in Chapter 24 regarding Willamine?

10. What does Jack dream of in Chapter 37?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of "isolation" in Big Sur. How does this theme contrast that of "fame?" How do these juxtapositions create conflict in the hero?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of alcohol addiction and delirium tremens in Big Sur. Which character struggles with this and what is his journey?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the literary allusions in the book. What poets, authors, and thinkers does the narrator read, quote from, and discuss? What do these lead the reader to understand?

(see the answer keys)

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