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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 Gericault use as a model for the people in "Raft of the Medusa"?

2. What chemical change does the author mention at the end of Appendix 6?

3. The author compares Carlyle to what other artist?

4. What is striking about the painting of the butcher bird, to which the author refers at the end of Appendix 5?

5. What does Carlyle call "an incredible tradition"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author introduce Georges de La Tour in Appendix 4?

2. What are the types of passage that the author mentions at the end of Appendix 6?

3. Of what was Carlyle constantly apprehensive or afraid?

4. How can a state similar to schizophrenia be deliberately induced?

5. What comment does the author make at the end of Appendix 4 regarding La Tour's personal character?

6. What does Halliday write about Carlyle's description of himself?

7. To what does the author compare the world inhabited by schizophrenics in Appendix 6?

8. According to the author, how did Gericault see the world?

9. What is the "negative significance" which, according to the author, Carlyle and others like him saw in the world?

10. What does Gericault say about his own artwork, according to the quote in Appendix 7?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Huxley devotes an appendix to discussing the works of Gericault. Why are Gericault's works so important to Huxley? What does he experience when viewing Gericault's works? In what way do Gericault's paintings relate to the theme of visionary experiences?

Essay Topic 2

Huxley describes various vision-inducing methods in the book. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method, and why? Which one does Huxley prefer? What groups of people commonly used each method? Is each method still commonly used? Are they all equally effective? If not, which ones are more effective?

Essay Topic 3

Color and light are both crucial aspects of a visionary experience, according to Huxley. Why? In what natural objects are color and light often seen in an intense concentration? How are these objects part of religion and spirituality? In Huxley's opinion, why are color and light so important to visionary experiences?

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