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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. The author accuses the young man of hardening his mind to what?

2. If one can "lose the whole world" without damaging one's soul, the author of the letter asserts, then what must "one's soul" prove to be?

3. What kind of person does the author say the young man is like?

4. What does the author say the young man's attitude toward ethics is?

5. What concept does the author of the letter introduce at the beginning of this section?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the point of the author's story about the count and countess?

2. Briefly describe what the author means by the term Either/Or.

3. What is the relationship between the ethical and the aesthetic?

4. What does the author say to despotic husbands who utterly dominate their wives?

5. How does the author describe his depression?

6. Describe the folktale about Roland's three squires.

7. What are the advantages of the ethical theory of talent as opposed to the aesthetic theory of talent?

8. What does the author say the young man proposes is the definition of a hero? What does the author encourage the young man to suppose instead?

9. What advice does the author give the young man about despair?

10. What "gift of grace" does the author say he would add to those listed in the bible?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the characteristics of the author of the letter? What kind of man is he? What is his life like? Create and defend a detailed portrait of the author of the letter citing specific examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

The final chapter of EITHER/OR takes the form of a sermon? How does this form serve the author's intentions? How does it limit him? What other form might the final chapter have taken? How would that change the effect of the book for better or worse? Cite specific examples from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

The final chapter of EITHER/OR opens with a prayer. Discuss the content and significance of this prayer in relation to the final chapter and EITHER/OR as a whole. Cite specific examples from the text.

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