View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. With whom did Emerson take walks after returning from Europe?

2. What was the focus of "The Dial" under Emerson's editorial leadership?

3. What theme does Richardson say Emerson began to write about as he turned forty?

4. For how long was Emerson the editor of "The Dial?"

5. How did Emerson see his personal history, according to Richardson?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who was Jones Very?

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

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

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

6. How does Richardson describe Emerson's home life in the 1850s?

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

8. What was the significance of Emerson's first daughter's name?

9. Describe the effect Margaret Fuller Ossoli's death had on Emerson.

10. What was Emerson's relationship with abolition?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Emerson wrote essays on love and spiritual laws, but never marriage. Why not, do you think?

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate your own reading of The Mind on Fire. Did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 3

What were the two or three main points in the process by which Emerson became Emerson? Which moments were most important? Which does Richardson identify? Which do you think are most important, and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 884 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample