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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 word does Thoreau use to describe his walks?

2. What did Thoreau dislike about the newspaper articles about Brown's attack?

3. In what state did Brown's attack take place?

4. Where did Thoreau say he wanted to be a citizen of?

5. What direction did Thoreau prefer to walk in?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Thoreau think Massachusetts was hypocritical?

2. Why was Thoreau free to go wherever he wanted on his daily walks?

3. What was Thoreau pleading for in 'A Plea for Captain John Brown'?

4. What did Thoreau not like about the media coverage of Brown and his attack?

5. What did Thoreau say was the main difference between Brown and the man he compared Brown to?

6. What were John Browns intentions with his raid?

7. How did Thoreau begin his speech about John Brown?

8. How was Brown taken to court for his raid and what happened there?

9. Where did Thoreau say most men would walk if given the choice, and why?

10. What did Thoreau say his walking was a metaphor of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does symbolism play in this book and where does it appear? How was the feeling of the essays altered by the presence of these symbols?

Essay Topic 2

What historical events prompted some of the essays from this book, and what were Thoreau's opinions about them?

Essay Topic 3

Thoreau mentioned the hypocrisy of the nation a number of times in these essays. What examples did he give of this hypocrisy, and what support did he give for his opinion in the matter?

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