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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Children of the Fire.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did Emerson describe his experience of Ellen's death?
(a) It was a second birth.
(b) It forced him to question his beliefs.
(c) It was a turning point.
(d) It was a death for him as well.

2. How did Emerson's views on individuality and idealism respond to the immense cultural changes of the 1840s, according to Richardson?
(a) They became more optimistic.
(b) They became more realistic.
(c) They stayed the same.
(d) They were tempered by doubts.

3. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's feelings about the changes he made after Ellen's death?
(a) Fear and freedom.
(b) Moderation and deliberation.
(c) Exhilaration and vision.
(d) Depression and doubt.

4. What was Emerson reading of Bronson Alcott's, after settling down with Lidian?
(a) Views of childhood.
(b) Theories of education.
(c) Poetry.
(d) Philosophy.

5. How did Emerson change after opening Ellen's casket?
(a) He began to believe in the life of the spirit.
(b) He became morbid in his writing.
(c) He decided to focus on the living.
(d) He began to see the importance of scientific study.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the Transcendental Club?

2. What limitation does Emerson describe in Christianity in his Divinity School Address?

3. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's internal state in 1837?

4. What was Emerson's first son's name?

5. What influence does Richardson say has helped Emerson's writing?

(see the answer key)

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