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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 is the tone of this book?

2. What does Steinbeck think the waitress is capable of doing?

3. How does Steinbeck meet a Canadian family?

4. What has come over the country since Steinbeck's last trip?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes Steinbeck's wife, Elaine, to shout at him?

2. Explain how Steinbeck interjects humor into the book.

3. What is Steinbeck's start date for his trip?

4. Describe Deer Isle.

5. What are Steinbeck's musings on junk?

6. What is Steinbeck's position on hunting?

7. What does Steinbeck's 13-year-old neighbor boy symbolize?

8. What happens to disrupt the launch of Steinbeck's trip?

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

10. What does Steinbeck encounter that particularly unnerves him?

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 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?

Essay Topic 3

Explain some of the examples of regionalism found in the book. Can regionalism include more than accents and food? What else encompasses the culture and personality of a region? What are the major differences Steinbeck finds as he travels from place to place?

(see the answer keys)

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