View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Houston do after he resigns as Governor of Tennessee?
(a) He goes West to explore.
(b) He joins the Indians who had been relocated to Arkansas.
(c) He decides to go back to school.
(d) He settled down on a homestead and built a house.

2. What does Williams say that Lincoln finds no relief from?
(a) Loneliness.
(b) Debt.
(c) Bewilderment.
(d) Madness.

3. What adjective does the narrator use to describe Boone's character?
(a) Strong.
(b) Mild.
(c) Temperamental.
(d) Brave.

4. What kind of position is Jones' squadron in when the battle begins?
(a) Jones has only three ships left and is at a severe disadvantage.
(b) Jones has fewer ships, but is in a better position geographically than the enemy is.
(c) Jones has the same number of ships as the enemy.
(d) Jones has 20 ships and is at a strong advantage.

5. What does Williams say that Lincoln should be depicted as when a sculpture is made to memorialize him?
(a) A scholar.
(b) A soldier.
(c) A woman.
(d) A man.

6. What do Burr's critics say about him when he runs for office?
(a) He is secretly a Royalist.
(b) He is frivolous and immoral.
(c) He is corrupt and would misuse power.
(d) He does not have enough experience or education.

7. What does the narrator's interlocutor, Valyry Larbaud, admire about the Puritans?
(a) Their intellectual ability.
(b) Their resourcefulness.
(c) Their tolerance of other religions.
(d) Their firm vigor.

8. What event in Poe's life trapped him in his poetry?
(a) The birth of his child.
(b) The end of the war.
(c) The destruction of his home.
(d) The death of his wife.

9. What does Poe call Longfellow?
(a) A shyster.
(b) An ignoramus.
(c) A thief.
(d) A plagiarist.

10. Who does Lincoln say he owes everything he is or ever will be to?
(a) His devoted wife.
(b) His faithful housekeeper.
(c) His angel mother.
(d) His loving sister.

11. Why does Lincoln borrow a neighbor's baby?
(a) To pace with while he is thinking.
(b) To find out more about what the children of America need.
(c) To comfort him after the death of a loved one.
(d) To use in a play that is being put on at the local school.

12. How does Poe respond to Lowell's criticism of him in verse?
(a) He says that Mr. Lowell does not understand what makes his work unique and original.
(b) He says that he does not write for Mr. Lowell or for any other man but for himself.
(c) He says that Mr. Lowell should not use the anapestic rhythm, as he does not have an ear for it.
(d) He says that Mr. Lowell should stick to writing about topics that he knows more about.

13. How does Williams say that intense emotions affect our perceptions of things?
(a) They make everything better.
(b) They make everything harder.
(c) They make everything confusing.
(d) They make everything larger.

14. What does the "Poor Richard" narrator say is a common misconception that Europeans have about America?
(a) Americans place a high value on leisure time and do not like to work.
(b) It is a dangerous place because there are so many Indian raids.
(c) It is very hard to earn a living by farming in America.
(d) They can move there and quickly be elected to political office.

15. What makes Daniel Boone different from other settlers, according to the narrator?
(a) He is not afraid to go west into the wilderness.
(b) He started new communities wherever he went.
(c) He does not consider himself an American citizen.
(d) He is at war with the Indians he met.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the narrator describe George Washington's character at the beginning of "George Washington"?

2. Why does Franklin recommend against trying to make money in America through manufacturing?

3. What does Williams say that American families cheat their daughters out of by trying to frighten them into delaying the loss of their virginity?

4. What quality does Williams admire in the woman who lives in the "ramshackle castle" by the railroad tracks?

5. Which of the following adjectives best describes the narrator's experience of Paris?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 746 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample