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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. With what view of Emerson's did his friends disagree, according to Richardson?

2. What does Richardson say crowds expected from Emerson?

3. Which of Emerson's friendships was tested on Emerson's return from Europe?

4. What side of Emerson was apparent in the volume of poems he published in 1846?

5. What did Emerson begin to write about after returning to America?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what use does Emerson put great men in Representative Men?

2. Describe Emerson's lecturing career.

3. How was Emerson's work changing as he reached his fortieth birthday, in Richardson's account?

4. What was Hegel's importance to Emerson's thinking?

5. Describe Emerson's son's death and its effect on him.

6. What were Emerson's impressions of England when he traveled there in 1848?

7. What political events did Emerson witness during his trip to Europe?

8. What was Fourier's influence on Emerson's thinking?

9. What was Emerson's talk in Dartmouth like?

10. Who was Hafiz and what was his influence on Emerson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 2

Emerson's descendants are reputed to have moved away from New England, and to have taken up Catholicism. How do you think Emerson would have responded to this? How does his philosophy, how does his writing represent the continuity of culture from one generation to the next?

Essay Topic 3

Which writer or intellectual do you think had the greatest influence on Emerson? Hegel? Hume? Taylor? Fuller? Thoreau? Make an argument based on the text.

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