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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 does Steinbeck expect to experience on the road?

2. What kind of dog is Charley?

3. According to Steinbeck, _____________ is the greater part of recognition.

4. What happens when the eye of the storm passes?

5. What does Steinbeck share with the adults in the family?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe New England voices.

2. What is John Steinbeck's view on the journey he is about to take?

3. What is Steinbeck's purpose for taking this trip?

4. Explain the irony in the scene in which Steinbeck discusses politics with the egg farmer.

5. Describe Deer Isle.

6. What misgivings does Steinbeck experience as the day of his departure approaches?

7. What is Steinbeck's explanation for the junk yards and garbage dumps surrounding the small towns and villages through which he passes?

8. What is ironic about Steinbeck being an American writer?

9. Describe some of the things that Steinbeck packs.

10. Why does Steinbeck decide not to take a human traveling companion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain why one of Steinbeck's New York friends had asked Steinbeck to bring back any honest men Steinbeck found on his trip. What was the state of the economy, the government, etc. in America in 1960 that could have benefited from authentic, honest men? Do you think Steinbeck ever found anyone who would have qualified? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

What are Steinbeck's reasons for embarking on this journey? What does he hope to find that he did not see in a similar trip 25 years before? What is the unspoken private motivation of Steinbeck's vs. the reason he provides to everyone else?

Essay Topic 3

What lessons about bureaucracy does Steinbeck learn at the U.S.-Canadian border? What are Steinbeck's opinions about governments, their laws and the people they put in place to enforce them? How does Steinbeck separate his hate for governments from his love for countries?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample