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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. How many wives did Wilson have?

2. What was the name of the first publishing firm that Gollancz worked for?

3. What honor did Gollancz receive in 1945?

4. What was the name of Gollancz'a wife?

5. Who did Brecht leave rights to his works to in his will?

Short Essay Questions

1. What redeeming quality does Johnson specifically note of Brecht?

2. Why did Bertrand Russell write so much?

3. Why did Gollancz prefer to hire female employees?

4. Why did Russell like Mathematics?

5. What importance did Sartre place upon literature and letters?

6. What did Orwell think of fellow intellectuals in comparison to the poor?

7. What type of relationships did Gollancz have with people from the working class?

8. Why was Hellman blacklisted from Hollywood in 1948?

9. How did Sartre feel towards America?

10. How does Johnson describe Wilson's writings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Johnson pays particular notice to the birth order of each individual and what their life was like growing up. Selecting at least three different intellectuals, compare their birth order, and childhood and how that affected their work as an artist and also their personal relationships at maturity.

Essay Topic 2

What is Paul Johnson's writing style? Discuss both the mechanical aspect of his writing and his "voice" throughout the book. Make sure and discuss what literary tools and devices he relies on most and what specific parts of the text reflect his voice?

Essay Topic 3

Johnson suggests that many of the thinkers could not relate or communicate with people, but were great at sympathizing with ideas. Using textual evidence, identify at least three thinkers who sympathized with ideas rather than actual people and explain how this was manifested.

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This section contains 604 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample