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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 happens when Camille finds out about Inez?

2. How does Sal feel after Dean confides in Sal about his reaction to their fight?

3. Who are Sal and Dean's passengers on their trip to Chicago in the travel bureau car?

4. Where do Sal, Dean, and Marylou drop Alfred off?

5. What are Sal and Dean's travel companions' reactions to dropping Sal and Dean off at their stop?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Sal in Mexico City?

2. What happens between Sal and Marylou in San Francisco?

3. How does a wealthy woman assist Sal in Denver?

4. What place do Dean and Sal plan to travel to where they have never been before?

5. What decision did the other passengers override Sal and Dean on in Sacramento?

6. What does Camille do to Dean and Sal in the spring of 1949?

7. Why does Dean want to take the trip with Sal and Stan?

8. Sal and Dean have their first argument at a restaurant in Denver. What is the argument about?

9. Who are the other passengers in the travel bureau car that belongs to a wealthy man in Chicago?

10. What arrives in San Francisco that allows Sal to return to New York?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dean Moriarty is a criminal who is at times wild and erratic, and who sometimes abandons wives and friends at his convenience.

a. Why are so many people attracted to him?

b. What qualities does Dean Moriarty have that makes Sal see him as a "holy saint"?

c. Are these qualities central to what it means to be "beat"?

Cite specific examples from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

The quote, "Three writers does not a generation make," is sometimes attributed to Beat writer, Gregory Corso. Since the Beats only constituted a handful of writers, how would you explain the impact of the Beat Movement on future generations and the youth of today?

Essay Topic 3

Friends play a significant role in Sal Paradise's life.

a. As a result of a rift among his friends, Sal is torn between the more established and secure types, like Chad King, and the more frenzied Dean Moriarty and Carlo Marx. How does being torn between friends represent Sal's inner conflicts between being established or rebellious?

b. How do relationships with friends function in Beat culture?

(see the answer keys)

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