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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What political contest was becoming serious after Emerson's return from Europe?
(a) International trade.
(b) Suffrage.
(c) Westward expansion.
(d) Abolition.

2. To what cause does Richardson attribute Emerson's moodiness in advance of his trip to Europe?
(a) Correspondence with Margaret Fuller.
(b) Correspondence with Caroline Sturgis.
(c) Correspondence with Thoreau.
(d) Correspondence with Anna Barker.

3. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's fame?
(a) Semi-divine.
(b) Momentary.
(c) Almost dangerous.
(d) Moderate.

4. What does Richardson say was the most important thing in Emerson's life?
(a) His writing.
(b) His marriage.
(c) His children.
(d) His friendships.

5. What objection did Emerson make to Charles Fourier's utopian ideas?
(a) He was too optimistic.
(b) He had too much faith in people.
(c) He was too pessimistic.
(d) He was too dependent on science.

6. What was Emerson's response to the invitation to join Brook Farm?
(a) He joined.
(b) He never responded, but let the matter fall.
(c) He declined.
(d) He delayed.

7. For how long was Emerson the editor of "The Dial?"
(a) Two years.
(b) Six months.
(c) Three years.
(d) Four years.

8. What was Emerson's frame of mind on returning from Europe?
(a) Unhappy, almost angry.
(b) Filled with doubts about his philosophy.
(c) Delighted, at the peak of his career.
(d) Disappointed, haunted by possibilities.

9. How was Emerson received in Europe?
(a) He was treated as a curiosity.
(b) He was hardly noticed.
(c) He was treated as a celebrity.
(d) He was criticized.

10. What idea of Hegel's did Emerson discover on returning from Europe?
(a) The importance of community.
(b) The importance of history.
(c) The importance of marriage.
(d) The importance of the heroic individual.

11. With what view of Emerson's did his friends disagree, according to Richardson?
(a) His isolationism.
(b) His focus on writing above all else.
(c) His positive view of Indian removal.
(d) His positive view of business.

12. What event threw Emerson into despair in 1840?
(a) The death of his son Waldo.
(b) The death of Mary Moody Emerson.
(c) The death of his brother Charles.
(d) Lidian's illness.

13. What was Emerson's response to the publicity that arose from Andrews Norton's article?
(a) He stayed out of it.
(b) He corresponded with Norton's superiors.
(c) He answered Norton publicly.
(d) He made overtures to Norton through friends.

14. 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 were tempered by doubts.
(c) They became more realistic.
(d) They stayed the same.

15. To what moral did Emerson point in his use of great men?
(a) That all men are representative of their race and times.
(b) That there are no common people.
(c) That common men are qualitatively different from exceptional men.
(d) That uniqueness is a burden only strong men can bear.

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose coffin did Emerson open toward the end of his life?

2. What does Richardson say were Emerson's feelings about marriage?

3. What was Emerson's hobby?

4. What does Richardson say crowds expected from Emerson?

5. On what theme did Emerson's letters and journals begin to focus after Margaret Fuller's death?

(see the answer keys)

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