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Travels with Charley
In Search of America
John Steinbeck
Reader’s Guide
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Vocabulary
1. (41) welkin-a literary reference for the sky or heaven
2. (50) taciturn-silent, unwilling to communicate
3. (50) laconic-using few words but expressing a great amount
4. (72) dehiscent-the splitting open of an organ or tissue
5. (77) sepulcher-a tomb or burial place
6. (107) corpulence-bulkiness or fatness of body
7. (109) mackinaw-a short double-breasted woolen coat, usually plaid
8. (111) tort-a wrongful act that results in damage to another person
9. (111) misdemeanor-a criminal act that is less than a felony
10.(112) jigs and poppers-a type of lure used for fishing
11.(112) Abercrombie and Fitch—founded in 1892 in NY, NY, it was an
elite sporting/fishing goods store
12.(124) patinaed-covered in patina, a covering, usually green, resulting
in oxidation on the surface of old bronze
13.(124) rakish-stylish, dashing
14.(125) dells-a small wooded valley
15.(129) flotsam-material floating on the water
16.(139) lam-escaping or in hiding
17.(139) olfaction-sense of smell
18.(142) atrophied-withered or shriveled
19.(145) chivalric-displaying the qualities of a knight; courageous, honor,
and bravery
20.(146) divan-a couch, usually without arms or a back that is often used
for sleeping
21.(146) charlatan-a person who pretends to know something; a quack
22.(149) Sir John Gielgud-famous Shakespearean actor during the 20th
century
23.(154) troglodytes-a primitive or brutal character unfamiliar with the
world
24. (171) slattern-untidy woman or girl
25.(185) obsequious-characterized by showing exaggerated obedience or
duty
26.(207) interment-the ceremonial of a burial
27.(219) pernicious-injurious or hurtful
28.(223) mullygrubs-grouchiness or unhappiness
29.(237) ostentation-display of wealth or showiness meant to impress
others.
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30.(238) ribald-vulgar in speech or language; abusive
31.(249) matriculate-enrolled in college or university for a degree
Others….
Directions: Answer each of the following (be aware of the multiple
questions imbedded in each number), citing pages and examples as
necessary.
Part 1
1. What is the purpose of the author’s writing? What has he always
wanted to do?
2. What does the author mean when he says “we do not take a trip; a trip
takes us.”?
3. Why will travelling twenty-five years after his first adventures be
different?
4. Rocinante is the old worn horse of Don Quixote, the hero in Spanish
author Cervantes’ novel who was inspired by lofty but impractical
ideas. Explain what Steinbeck may mean with this allusion.
5. Whom does the author take as a companion?
6. What foreshadowing foes Rocinante’s lack of damage during
hurricane Donna suggest?
Part II
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1. Why does the author choose this adventure even if it will be bad for
his health?
2. What are the physical features of the man with “Cornsilk hair and
delphinium eyes”?
3. What foreshadowing is indicated from the statement “He gave me
directions for getting out of town, some of the few accurate ones I got
on the whole trip.”?
4. How does the narrator deal with feeling overwhelmed by the task of
writing 500 pages or traveling across the country?
5. Explain the simile on p. 26—“American cities are like badger holes.”
6. Nikita Krushchev led the Soviet Union during the Cold War from
1953-1964. What does the author’s desire to be in New York during
Krushchev’s visit suggest?
7. How does Charley wake the author most mornings?
8. Why does the author give the reader a physical description of himself?
9. Explain how the author discovers a way to wash clothing. According
to the author, what is more harmful to people than germs?
10.Why does the cook on the ranch in Salinas, California, use a decoy for
hunters to mistakenly shoot at what they believe is a deer?
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11.Describe the meaning of the metaphor on page 74… “milltowns…are
knots of worms.”
12.What frustration does the author encounter with his dog when he
attempts to cross the US border into Canada?
13.What features of the rest stops are similar to today’s rest areas? How
are they different today?
14.According to the narrator, how are truckers like sailors?
15.Vernacular language is the plain, ordinary language of a region. Do
you believe that people around the country are all speaking the same
now as the narrator predicted?
16.How often does the narrator call his wife, and how does he do it?
How do people communicate today? What advantages and
disadvantages do these options offer?
17.Who is “Lonesome Harry” and why does the narrator become
fascinated in researching him? Why does the narrator feel sorry for
him?
Part III
1. Why does the author want to go to Salk Centre?
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2. Why does the author want 48 WPA Guides to the States? Why not
50?
3. Would Mr. O’Connor hire an actor who appears at the school in a
camper? Why do you think that the actor that the narrator meets is
able to succeed at this lifestyle?
4. What profession is older than the written word and will, according to
the author, continue even if writing disappears?
5. What happens to the “Badlands’ of North Dakota when night falls?
6. How does the author feel about Montana? Why?
7. General Custer suffered his “last stand” in June 1876 against the
Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. Why does the author
pay his respects on the battlefield of the Little Bighorn? Explain the
oxymoron in the title.
8. Why does the author typically avoid National Parks? Do you believe
this is true today?
9. What surprising behavior does Charlie exhibit when he sees a bear in
Yellowstone?
10.What causes the author to reflect upon the journey of Lewis and
Clark?
11.What types of people were written about in the U.S. Constitution and
how does the author believe society has changed?
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12.How does the rental of a cabin differ from today’s rental
arrangements?
13.What does the narrator discover after he finished replacing his blown
tire with the spare?
14.How does the evil-looking service station owner defy his appearance?
15.Why does the author feel great awe when surrounded by giant
sequoias?
16.American author and journalist Tom Wolfe wrote “You can’t go home
again.” What does the narrator discover when he returns to his home
in CA?
17.Who is Charley named after? What did the author often do with him?
18.What does the author believe about “the melting pot nation” and our
relationships with different ethnicities?
19.What conflicts does the narrator experience as he aims at the two
coyotes?
Part IV.
1. Why did the narrator want to avoid Texas? Why is he unable to avoid
the state?
2. What does the narrator believe is the “paradox of Texas”?
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3. Petronius was a Roman author (66 AD) whose work in Latin reflected
satirical reflections on human behavior. How is the author’s
experience on Thanksgiving reflect satirical writing as defined
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/satire
sat·ire noun
1.
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or
deriding vice, folly, etc.
2.
a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are
held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3.
a literary genre comprising such compositions.
4. What conflict are the “Cheerleaders” trying to prevent in New
Orleans? Why does this seem unusual today?
5. What does the author mean when he writes “He doesn’t belong to a
species clever enough to split the atom but not clever enough to live in
peach with itself” (p. 269)?
Do you believe this is true today? Explain.
6. What is ironic about the author’s discovery at the end of the story?
What might this symbolize?
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