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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did travel in Italy affect Emerson?
(a) He became suspicious of Old World philosophy.
(b) He felt dwarfed by the history there.
(c) He was overcome with awe.
(d) He was rejuvenated.

2. What was the Transcendental Club founded to discuss?
(a) The nature of God.
(b) The future of America.
(c) The possibility of transcendence.
(d) The state of intellect in the U.S.

3. Where did Emerson and Lidian settle down after marrying?
(a) Walden Pond.
(b) Cambridge.
(c) Concord.
(d) Boston.

4. What did Emerson do when he returned from the South?
(a) Taught at Harvard.
(b) Preached itinerantly.
(c) Looked for a wife.
(d) Prepared to travel further abroad.

5. The Mind on Fire is the story of what?
(a) Emerson's marriage.
(b) Emerson's literary development.
(c) Emerson's family.
(d) Emerson's intellectual career.

6. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's second wife?
(a) Tender and passionate but sometimes anxious.
(b) Wryly humorous and occasionally depressed.
(c) Devout and lyrical but sometimes full of doubts.
(d) Reserved and self-critical.

7. How does Richardson describe Emerson as a young boy?
(a) Silly and unpromising.
(b) Self-critical and motivated.
(c) Talented and ambitious.
(d) Full of doubts.

8. What vision did Emerson have in the Jardin de Plantes in Paris?
(a) He saw the future of science.
(b) He saw the life of culture.
(c) He saw the unity of all life.
(d) He saw the cruelty of evolution.

9. Where does Richardson say Emerson's interest in religion came from?
(a) His brothers.
(b) His mother.
(c) Mary Moody Emerson.
(d) His father.

10. In what way did Emerson share a faith with Mary Rotch and the Quakers?
(a) Both believed in the unity of the world-spirit.
(b) Both believed that religion was about to be reinvented for modern times.
(c) Both believed in the necessity of deep and prolonged religious study.
(d) Both believed that the inner spirit took precedence over the Bible and external religion.

11. What does Richardson say was happening as Emerson and his brother Charles grew closer?
(a) Charles was leaving the church.
(b) Charles' health was declining.
(c) Charles was expecting his first child.
(d) Charles was subscribing to Emerson's new confidence about religion.

12. According to Richardson, what religious belief did Emerson turn toward while Ellen Tucker was dying?
(a) Methodism.
(b) Pantheism.
(c) Calvinism.
(d) Paganism.

13. What idea did Emerson return to many times after giving his speech on American Scholar?
(a) The unity of things.
(b) The importance of marriage.
(c) The omnipotence of God.
(d) The uniqueness of America.

14. Where was Emerson going on Christmas Day, 1832?
(a) Europe.
(b) Boston.
(c) New York.
(d) South Carolina.

15. In what religious sect was Edward Taylor active?
(a) Calvinist.
(b) Unitarian.
(c) Baptist.
(d) Shouting Methodist.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what movement does Richardson say was Lidian ahead of Emerson?

2. How did Emerson characterize Samuel Taylor Coleridge?

3. What is the main theme of Nature?

4. How does Richardson characterize the beginning of Emerson's relation with Margaret Fuller?

5. What publication did Emerson call a "living leaping Logos"?

(see the answer keys)

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