Dharma Bums Study Guide

1. In what decade was The Dharma Bums first published?

• 1940s
• 1950s
• 1960s
• 1970s

2. The Dharma Bums is best described as

• semi-autobiographical
• wholly fictional
• autobiographical
• none of the above

3. Jack Kerouac and his friends are members of

• The Silent Generation
• The Beat Generation
• Generation X
• The Lost Generation

4. Kerouac was born in

• Ohio
• Montana
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut

5. Which one of the following works was not written by Jack Kerouac?

• On the Road
• Visions of Cody
• The Back Country
• Big Sur

6. Kerouac's writing style is best described as

• spontaneous
• formulaic
• hyperbolized
• allegorical

7. Japhy Ryder is based off of which of Kerouac's real-life friends?

• Philip Whalen
• Allan Ginsberg
• Gary Snyder
• Neal Cassady

8. Off of which of Kerouac's acquaintances is the character Henry Morley based?

• Will Petersen
• Locke McCorkle
• Allan Ginsberg
• John Montgomery

9. What is "satori?"

• a term meaning "teaching"
• adherence to one's own principles
• a riddle proposed by a Zen Master
• sudden enlightenment

10. What is "yabyum?"

• A simple but hearty dish of oats and bacon
• A Tibetan sexual rite
• The process of coming into existence as a mortal creature
• The highest stage of meditation