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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Part 2, "Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri," Chapter 9 opens with Miller borrowing the _____ concept of "clearing,"
(a) Dianetics.
(b) Calvinist.
(c) Catholic.
(d) Quaker.

2. Almost how many artists of all sorts come through Big Sur in Henry Miller's twelve years there?
(a) 200.
(b) 20.
(c) 100.
(d) 50.

3. All of the animals and plants in Bosch's paintings share a magic _____.
(a) Tranquility.
(b) Beauty.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Super-reality.

4. What denomination of preacher is Miller's favorite bootblack in Monterey?
(a) Baptist.
(b) Presbyterian.
(c) Pentecostal.
(d) Methodist.

5. What lessens the idealism of Big Sur as a place for Miller to write?
(a) Weather.
(b) Isolation.
(c) Children.
(d) Visitors.

Short Answer Questions

1. Miller is sometimes surprised by revelations of household tragedies too great to describe, even by who, whose domestic life is a sad joke?

2. Fledgling writers seek advice from Miller, but writing is a what to him?

3. What does Miller find to be a constant nuisance in the beginning of the narrative?

4. What can improve bad painting, according to Miller?

5. A Basque girl visits Miller, freezing and starving, to ask his views on who?

Short Essay Questions

1. Miller discusses his thoughts and philosophies on painting in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 4. When did Miller begin painting and how much has he painted at this point in the book?

2. How does Miller describe Ephraim Doner in "Testimonial in Ut-Mineur"?

3. How does Miller describe the process of inspiration in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 4?

4. What is Harvey's affliction and what does Miller advise to him in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 1?

5. Who is Miller's favorite local painter at Big Sur? In what ways does Miller work to improve his own work?

6. What does Miller write of Tolstoy in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 7? How does his domestic life relate to Miller's?

7. Who does Miller describe meeting in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 5 at the sulfur baths?

8. Miller writes commentary in Part 1, The Oranges of the Millennium, examining the American Dream. What are his major points?

9. Who helps Miller with his children following his divorce from Janina? What is the outcome?

10. How does Miller describe the plants and animals in Hieronymus Bosch's The Millennium? How does this relate to Big Sur?

(see the answer keys)

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