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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. What does the author say is "the last to be satisfied"?

2. What history does the author say proves to be incommensurable for poetry?

3. What phrase does the young man fling about according to the author?

4. Why must a captain of a ship make swift decisions about direction changes?

5. What does the author say an aesthetic representation requires?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author say is the proper attitude for a married man in a time of material need?

2. What are the advantages of the ethical theory of talent as opposed to the aesthetic theory of talent?

3. What is the relationship between the ethical and the aesthetic?

4. What is the point of the author's story about the count and countess?

5. What does the author say the young man proposes is the definition of a hero? What does the author encourage the young man to suppose instead?

6. How does the author define philosophy and what does he appreciate about it?

7. What is the author's definition of the ethical?

8. Briefly describe what the author means by the term Either/Or.

9. Why does the author warn against young men being tied down to making a living right away?

10. What does the author say to despotic husbands who utterly dominate their wives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The final chapter of EITHER/OR takes the form of a sermon? How does this form serve the author's intentions? How does it limit him? What other form might the final chapter have taken? How would that change the effect of the book for better or worse? Cite specific examples from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the impact of "the congregation" on the author's thinking in EITHER/OR. Who is "the congregation"? What is the influence of "the congregation"? What emotional responses does the author say "the congregation" elicits? Discuss citing specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

What are the characteristics of the author of the letter? What kind of man is he? What is his life like? Create and defend a detailed portrait of the author of the letter citing specific examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

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