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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 was Jack Kerouac born?

2. When was Neal Cassady born?

3. When was Philip Whalen born?

4. The Beat Generation started off in what city?

5. In what year did Gregory Corso meet Allen Ginsberg?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the poetry of Gregory Corso, including subject and themes.

2. How do Cassady and Kerouac differ on their perspective of Cassady's childhood?

3. What does Kerouac's letter to Neal Cassady reveal about their friendship?

4. In his letters to Kerouac, what is Cassady's description of how he lost his old girlfriend Joan in Denver?

5. What is the theme of the poem "Kaddish"?

6. Who is Micheal McClure? Describe his "Peyote Poem."

7. What are some examples of religious allusion in "Howl"? What do they represent?

8. What repetition is used in the "Peyote Poem"? Why?

9. What political allusions are used in "One Thousand Fearful Words for Fidel Castro"?

10. What does Ann Charters write about Carl Solomon in his biographical information? What is his work about?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the novel On the Road and its importance to the Beat Generation's philosophies and ideologies. What are the fictionalized names about and "who is who"?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the works of William S. Burroughs. What common subjects and themes does Burroughs revisit? When did Burroughs begin writing?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the poets Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen. Where did these poets meet? How did they become associated with the Beat Generation?

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