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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What does Richardson say was happening as Emerson and his brother Charles grew closer?
(a) Charles was subscribing to Emerson's new confidence about religion.
(b) Charles' health was declining.
(c) Charles was leaving the church.
(d) Charles was expecting his first child.

3. Who does Richardson credit with the birth of American Transcendentalism?
(a) Bronson Alcott.
(b) Jones Very.
(c) Emerson.
(d) Frederic Hedge.

4. In what author did Emerson find guidance during Ellen Tucker's death?
(a) Wordsworth.
(b) Gerondo.
(c) Hume.
(d) de Staël.

5. What did this turning point do for Emerson?
(a) It filled him with knowledge of the classics.
(b) It introduced him to people who could forward his career.
(c) It gave him the confidence to pursue his studies.
(d) It centered his attention on his own experience.

Short Answer Questions

1. What troubled Emerson during his travels to the South?

2. Where did Emerson and Lidian settle down after marrying?

3. When did Emerson meet Lydia Jackson?

4. Where does Richardson say Emerson's interest in religion came from?

5. What does Emerson say reality is masked by?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where did Emerson travel in Europe?

2. What was the Transcendental Club?

3. How close was the Emerson family after Emerson's return from Europe?

4. What was the 'immovable anchor' in Emerson's thinking, according to Richardson?

5. How did travel change Emerson's intellectual interests?

6. What turning point did Emerson reach in his junior year of college?

7. Why did Emerson travel to the South?

8. What kinds of images does Richardson say dominated Emerson's thinking and writing in 1836?

9. How did Emerson support himself after Harvard?

10. How does Richardson describe Emerson as a child?

(see the answer keys)

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