Study Guide for Dharma Bums & Comprehension Test

Dharma Bums
by Jack Kerouac
About_
This study guide accompanies a reading of Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, following narrator Ray Smith’s
friendship with poet and mountaineer Japhy Ryder as the two explore Buddhism, poetry, and a life stripped of
material excess. Students will trace Ray’s journeys from San Francisco poetry readings to a solo mountain climb of
the Matterhorn, cross-country hitchhiking trips, and finally a solitary summer as a fire lookout in the Cascades.
Along the way, the guide highlights key relationships, recurring symbols, and the novel’s central tension between
idealism and everyday human weakness. This study guide contains 91 questions across 7 chapter sections (70
Factual + 21 Critical), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity.
What’s Included_
This study guide features 7 sets of 10 Factual Questions with an answer key (70 total), 7 sets of 3 Critical Analysis
Questions (21 total), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity (8 traits + evidence prompt +
critical thinking question).
Target Grades_
Grades 11-12, Introductory College
Teacher Note_
This guide is designed to help students track plot details while pushing them toward deeper reflection on the
novel’s themes of friendship, spirituality, and self-discovery. The mix of factual recall and open-ended critical
questions builds comprehension while giving students room to form and defend their own interpretations. Use it
to save prep time while still delivering a rich, discussion-ready unit on a challenging modern classic