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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. Where does Higbie go on the same day that the narrator leaves to take care of Capt. John Nye?

2. How is the Whiteman Cement Mine described?

3. What is a nabob?

4. After the narrator loses his job as a reporter, how long does he avoid everyone he knows?

5. Where did the Germans go after finding the Whiteman Cement Mine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is on the islands in the center of Mono Lake?

2. How long does the narrator stay in Hawaii, and in what way does the author's literary tone change in these chapters?

3. Why is finding a good horse a difficult task in Hawaii?

4. What is the Whiteman Cement Mine and why is it considered to be elusive?

5. What causes the narrator to travel to San Francisco?

6. How does the narrator describe Hawaii and what initial setback does he encounter there?

7. Why is the narrator's work never published in The Weekly Occidental?

8. What is the new career choice the narrator makes towards the end of the book, and how does it begin?

9. What are the two different reasons that both the narrator and Higbie abandon their blind lead claim, and what is the result?

10. What difficulties does the narrator have in finding stories to write?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Great American Desert and the repetitive story of Hank Monk and Horace Greeley both prove to be frustrating for the narrator.

1) Describe how the Great American Desert appears, why it is different than the narrator expects, and the difficulty his stage coach experiences there.

2) Explain what the story of Hank Monk and Horace Greeley is about, how it is presented to the travelers, and why it is the source of frustration for the narrator. Also, include what the intention of the story is meant to be and why it has the opposite effect for the narrator.

3) Describe the literary technique that Twain uses in order to convey the repetitiveness of the story and why he is effective in helping the reader to understand his objection to it.

Essay Topic 2

Mr. Whiteman is the elusive subject of another plan to strike it rich by the narrator.

1) Describe the background of Mr. Whiteman and why it is believed that he can lead people to a gold mine.

2) Describe Mono Lake and the narrator's experiences there. Include what the lake represents in the theme of the narrator's quest for fortune.

3) Explain how the author successfully introduces events surrounding a character that never appears.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the historical significance of Roughing It by explaining the value and uniqueness of the first hand account being provided. In your analysis, answer the following questions: What are the most significant events that the narrator witnesses? How is the process of silver mining described? What are the "flush times" and how do they affect the narrator and other people living in the West? What other changes have a big impact on Western life? In what way does the media contribute to the actions of the narrator and other would be miners? How does the information in the book support Twain's intentions of writing it as stated in the Prefatory?

(see the answer keys)

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