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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 does Dean find jobs for in Denver?

2. Why does Sal leave Terry?

3. What Mexican woman does Sal meet on the bus to Los Angeles?

4. Why do Sal and Dean take a quick trip from Virginia to New Jersey?

5. Who does Sal reunite with at the restaurant while having dinner with Lee Ann, Remi, and Remi's stepfather?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Sal stop in Cheyenne instead of continuing to Los Angeles with the two brothers from Minnesota?

2. What does the group of friends do while in New York on New Year's Eve?

3. Why does Sal want to leave Denver?

4. Why does Sal break up with Lucille?

5. What do Sal, Ray Rawlins, and others do in an old mining town outside of Denver?

6. What are Sal's living arrangements while he is in Denver?

7. Who is "The Ghost?"

8. What is the vow Sal and Terry make when Sal leaves for New York?

9. Who is traveling with Mississippi Gene?

10. Why does Sal Paradise travel West?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the two central characters in On the Road, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, on the following:

a. The idea of being on the road.

b. The role of their fathers in their lives.

c. Their attitudes toward women.

Essay Topic 2

Post-World War II America was very insular by turning inward and focusing on internal issues and families. How does Beat society compare to post-World War II America?

Essay Topic 3

Sal and Dean mention finding "IT" throughout the novel

a. How do Sal and Dean define "IT"?

b. Do they ever find "IT"?

c. Do you think that "IT" has religious or spiritual undertones? Why or why not?

Cite specific examples from the book to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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