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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 did Dwight Eisenhower say freedom as been defined as in his 1957 State of the Union Address?

2. What was one tactic Eisenhower used when he was irritated with someone as a way of controlling his anger?

3. Immanuel Kant once wrote that no straight thing was ever made out of which of the following?

4. What kind of illness did Perkins' husband suffer from?

5. How does Brooks describe Dwight Eisenhower's father?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Perkins take a job teaching at Cornell University in 1957 although the pay was very little?

2. How does Brooks define the so-called "Big Me" culture?

3. What virtue does Brooks say is generally misunderstood in Chapter 4?

4. What did Viktor Frankl tell potential suicides in the concentration camp during WWII?

5. In Chapter 1, what trait does Brooks feel was more common in most people in the WWII-era than it is today?

6. What event in young Dwight Eisenhower's life prompted his mother to read him a Bible verse about conquering his own soul that had a great impact on his adult life?

7. Why did Frances Perkins decide to dress like an older mother when dealing with male members of congress?

8. How does Brooks describe Adam I in the Introduction?

9. How did Perkins initially win over Franklin Delano Roosevelt's trust?

10. What was a tactic Dwight Eisenhower used to manage his anger and emotions that involved writing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did the writer George Eliot's (born Mary Anne Evans) life and writings change dramatically after her relationship with George Henry Lewes developed? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the specific actions and events from Dwight Eisenhower's life that demonstrate his ability to restrain and master his own emotions.

Essay Topic 3

Brooks repeatedly refers to Immanuel Kant's adage, "Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made" (11). Write an essay analyzing how this sentiment relates to the idea of self-awareness.

(see the answer keys)

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