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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 Thoreau say his walks always had?

2. What did Thoreau say he always did while walking while comparing himself to an animal?

3. In 'Walking', what did Thoreau say most men's minds naturally gravitated towards?

4. What did Thoreau think should be made illegal in Massachusetts?

5. What was Thoreau pleading for in his speech about John Brown?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Thoreau say Nature would do for a walker?

2. Why did Thoreau think Massachusetts was hypocritical?

3. What did Thoreau say men should try to walk unencumbered by?

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

5. What did Thoreau say about American's gravitating toward the West?

6. Why did Thoreau say some people thought Brown was insane?

7. What did Thoreau say about the natural state of the world?

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

9. What did Thoreau say about society's idea of improvement?

10. What was Thoreau most critical of newspapers for in 'A Plea for Captain John Brown'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why was walking such an important part of Thoreau's daily schedule, and how did his description of his walking change the tone of his essays?

Essay Topic 2

Printing and newspapers were a major theme and device in this book. Where did they appear, and how were they used to send Thoreau's messages in a unique way?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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This section contains 565 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample