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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 are Sal and Dean's travel companions' reactions when it is Dean's turn to take the wheel of the vehicle?

2. Who does the travel bureau car that Sal and Dean drive from Denver to Chicago belong to?

3. How does their friend assist Sal, Dean, and Stan in Mexico?

4. Who do Sal, Dean, and Stan meet in a town called Gregoria?

5. What plans do Sal and Stan make during Sal's last trip to Denver?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the dream that both Sal and Dean have about driving?

2. What does Dean's cousin, Sam Brady, tell Dean when he was attempting to locate his father in Denver?

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

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

5. Who do Sal and Dean ride with in a travel bureau car from San Francisco to Denver?

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

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

8. What happens when Sal and Dean return the travel bureau car in Chicago?

9. What does Dean do when he, Sal, and Marylou arrive in San Francisco?

10. Where do Sal, Dean, and Stan Shepherd travel in Part 4 of On the Road?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On the Road depicts counterculture in 1950s America.

a. How do the main characters exemplify counterculture in the novel?

b. Why were they considered counterculture at the time?

c. Would they still be considered counterculture today?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Jazz music is an underlying theme in On the Road.

a. Describe the role of jazz in the Beat movement.

b. Describe how jazz influences how On the Road was written.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 550 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample