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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 is the colony of artists referred to at Big Sur in Part 2, "Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri," Chapter 2?

2. Who is expelled from West Point and finishes a fine novel that remains unpublished when he moves to Big Sur, CA?

3. Miller writes that Big Sur feels naked and vulnerable, an apt setting for what?

4. Miller writes that the local folk in Big Sur have embraced the healing ambiance and discovered how to live in peace, _____, and community.

5. What is the title of Part 2, "Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri," Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has the population of children changed in Miller's time at Big Sur? Who are his favorites?

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

3. Miller compares Wharton's need to help others with the United States in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 7. How?

4. What does Miller write of Dianetics in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 9? What is Dianetics?

5. 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?

6. Who is able to thrive in Big Sur and who is not, according to Miller in Part 1, The Oranges of the Millennium?

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

8. 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?

9. What does Miller describe in Part 2, Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Chapter 1? What is the title of this chapter, and why?

10. How does Miller stay in touch with the outside world, according to his depiction in Part 1, The Oranges of the Millennium?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who are the prominent members of the "Anderson Creek Gang"? What are their relationships and proximity to Henry Miller?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Miller's involvement in the War and how World War II affects the characters in the novel. What was Moricand's involvement? How has the war affected America?

Essay Topic 3

What was the critical response to Miller's Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch? How did this differ from Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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