View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. If the people within a commune did not work equally, what does Emerson say the harder-working individuals would do?
(a) Defect and start another commune.
(b) Defect and seek fortunes in the larger world.
(c) Create a hierarchy and rule the weaker workers.
(d) Grow agitated and start fighting among themselves.

2. How is truth revealed, according to "Intellect"?
(a) As a bolt of lightning.
(b) As a wandering light.
(c) As a wave in the ocean.
(d) As a butterfly from a caterpillar.

3. What did Plato emphasize over the body, according to "Plato, or the Philosopher"?
(a) Faith.
(b) The human soul.
(c) The heart.
(d) Human relationships.

4. How do people try to change old patterns in their lives?
(a) Rebelling against the way they were raised.
(b) Education and philosophy.
(c) Drugs and alcohol.
(d) Art and music.

5. What does Emerson believe about nature?
(a) It can be used as an analogy for all aspects of life.
(b) It is unchanging.
(c) It is bipolar.
(d) It will be the only thing that lasts.

6. According to Emerson, what do realists have on their side?
(a) Heart.
(b) Emotion.
(c) Reason.
(d) Faith.

7. According to Emerson's "The Over-Soul", which of the following is NOT the essence of the over-soul?
(a) Intellectual discussion.
(b) Human consciousness.
(c) An indwelling sense of God.
(d) Spirituality.

8. What does true friendship require, according to Emerson?
(a) Conversation.
(b) Cordial goodwill.
(c) Humility.
(d) Friendly love.

9. Which of the following is the Gospel that makes mention of repetition of the Lord's Supper in worship, according to Emerson?
(a) Luke.
(b) Matthew.
(c) John.
(d) Mark.

10. How do we pass through life, according to "Experience"?
(a) As children in a maze.
(b) Unaware that it is miraculous.
(c) Pausing to learn from experience.
(d) Vain to think we make a difference in any life except our own.

11. How should history be understood, according to Emerson's essay "History"?
(a) As a piece of the puzzle of the human experience.
(b) As biography.
(c) As subjective narrative.
(d) As the first and most basic art form.

12. Who was Plato's teacher?
(a) Socrates.
(b) He was self-taught.
(c) Immanuel Kant.
(d) Confucius.

13. At what college did Emerson give "The American Scholar" as an address?
(a) New York University.
(b) Oxford.
(c) Princeton.
(d) Harvard.

14. What happens when you greatly admire or revere someone?
(a) You resent them.
(b) You emulate them.
(c) You raise them to perfection in your mind.
(d) You become jealous of them.

15. What view does Emerson take of human love in "Love"?
(a) Spiritual.
(b) Physical.
(c) Emotional.
(d) Logical.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the direction of nature and human consciousness?

2. According to Emerson, what is a faint reflection of proper manners?

3. What is the only permanent thing in the universe, according to Emerson?

4. How does Emerson suggest his readers should acquire art?

5. To whom does Emerson attribute the term "transcendentalism"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 486 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample