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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. Who is Osman?

2. Why did Emerson take over editorship of "The Dial?"

3. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's response to his son's death?

4. To what moral did Emerson point in his use of great men?

5. How does Richardson characterize Sufism?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Emerson balance writing and editing?

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

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

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

6. How does Richardson characterize the change that took place in Emerson after Waldo's death?

7. Who was Jones Very?

8. What was Emerson's response to the invitation to join Brook Farm?

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

10. How does Richardson characterize Emerson's fame?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What kind of writer was Ralph Waldo Emerson? Was he a poet, or a religious writer, or a writer of some other sort? Define your terms and make a case based on the text.

Essay Topic 2

How did Emerson distinguish himself from the writers and thinkers around him? What individuality and uniqueness did he call upon to accentuate the difference between himself and Jones Very? Thoreau? His brothers and forefathers? His Aunt Mary? Carlyle?

Essay Topic 3

Richardson says that Emerson was surprised by his reaction to Lincoln. Where else did Emerson surprise himself, and what value did he attach to being surprised? Was it something he sought out, or something he protected himself against? How did he do each of these things?

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