View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author describe our ancestors' winter diets in Appendix 2?

2. When did fireworks re-enter the world of popular entertainment, according to the author?

3. What two techniques, according to the author, can produce effects similar to those of mescalin?

4. According to the author, what did one subject see while under the effects of mescalin and the second technique described in Appendix 1?

5. According to the author in Appendix 2, how would "proponents of a 'Nothing-But' philosophy" interpret mystical experiences?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did movies evolve, according to the information presented in Appendix 3?

2. What are the author's expectations regarding what he will experience during the mescalin trial?

3. What does the author say about Plato during the first part of the mescalin experiment?

4. In what other way did faithful people sometimes induce religious visions, according to the author?

5. How and why has the diet of most people changed over time?

6. What is known about peyote before the author participates in his experiment with it?

7. According to the author, what is the role of psychics and mystics in the modern Western world, and why?

8. How is the practice of pageantry related to theatrical spectacle, according to the author in Appendix 3?

9. How does light affect the art of sculpture?

10. What types of art have the most transportative properties, according to the author?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Huxley devotes one appendix to discussing the art of Georges de La Tour. How was Huxley affected by La Tour's art? What was unique about it? What does La Tour's art have to do with visionary experiences? Do you think other people who saw La Tour's art viewed it in the same way Huxley did?

Essay Topic 2

Color and light are both crucial aspects of a visionary experience, according to Huxley. Why? In what natural objects are color and light often seen in an intense concentration? How are these objects part of religion and spirituality? In Huxley's opinion, why are color and light so important to visionary experiences?

Essay Topic 3

Huxley differentiates between a Victorian painting of a thrush and a Japanese one. How do the different artistic styles of these paintings affect the overall tone of the paintings? In what way does each of these paintings affect audiences? Which of these paintings does Huxley prefer?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,050 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample