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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. Which of Van Gogh's paintings does the author use as an example of Western landscape art?

2. According to the author, there is very little of what in La Tour's paintings?

3. What is the last sentence in Appendix 8?

4. What does the author say about Millais' "Ophelia" in Appendix 5?

5. How did Carlyle feel when he walked down a crowded street?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which of Gericault's paintings are included by the author in a list of Gericault's "demonic pictures"?

2. How can a state similar to schizophrenia be deliberately induced?

3. What literary allusions does the author make near the end of Appendix 6 regarding schizophrenics?

4. What does the author say in Appendix 5 about "Nature at the middle distance"?

5. According to the author, how did Gericault see the world?

6. According to the author in Appendix 6, how are the doors of Heaven and Hell opened for the living?

7. What does Gericault say about his own artwork, according to the quote in Appendix 7?

8. How does Carlyle feel about other people?

9. What comment does the author make at the end of Appendix 4 regarding La Tour's personal character?

10. What does the author mean when he calls La Tour an "extroverted visionary"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Huxley describes the vision-inducing powers of different visual arts. What are the arts which he mentions? How does each of these arts help to induce visionary experiences in the viewers? What relationship to these arts have to one another, and what technological developments took place for the advancement of these arts?

Essay Topic 2

Huxley describes various vision-inducing methods in the book. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and why? Which one does Huxley prefer? What groups of people commonly used each method? Is each method still commonly used? Are they all equally effective? If not, which ones are more effective?

Essay Topic 3

According to Huxley, mescalin altered his perceptions in a variety of ways. What were some of the ways in which his perception of reality was altered? How did he feel about these changes? What is Huxley's theory regarding how mescalin works on the human brain? Is this theory accurate? What lasting effects resulted from Huxley's use of mescalin?

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