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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Inner Light.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's perspective on approaching Europe?
(a) He became a citizen of the world.
(b) He abandoned his identity.
(c) He became a free-floating individual without a country.
(d) He became a 'defensive American.'

2. Where in his career was Emerson, in the scene Richardson describes in the Prologue?
(a) At its peak.
(b) At the beginning.
(c) At rock bottom.
(d) In its decline.

3. How did Emerson characterize Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
(a) As a citizen of the universe.
(b) As a man of the hour.
(c) As a living instance of the world-spirit.
(d) As a voice of the people.

4. What does Richardson say was the turning point in Emerson's life?
(a) His junior year in college.
(b) His trip to South Carolina.
(c) His wife's death.
(d) His trip to Europe.

5. How did Emerson's career change after he opened Ellen's casket?
(a) He left the church.
(b) He published argumentative tracts questioning the reality of religious rituals.
(c) He was ordained.
(d) He devoted himself more than ever to his preaching.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Richardson characterize the year 1834 in Emerson's life?

2. How did the event described in the Prologue change Emerson's life?

3. How long did Ellen Tucker and Emerson know each other before they were engaged?

4. Why was Emerson's meeting with Carlyle a "white day in his years"?

5. How does Richardson characterize the development of Emerson's writing in 1834?

(see the answer key)

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