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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. What does evolution destroy, according to Chesterton?
(a) Religion.
(b) Science.
(c) Modern intelligence.
(d) Reason.

2. Using the standards of the moralists, why does Chesterton say that the universe cannot be called large?
(a) Because fairy tales explain it.
(b) Because there is nothing to compare it to.
(c) Because God made it.
(d) Because man can fully understand it.

3. Why does Chesterton think glass is so often used in fairy tales?
(a) Glass easily portrays vivid emotions like anger.
(b) Glass is unusual for shoes and houses, and fitting to fairy tales.
(c) Glass is cheap and common.
(d) Glass, like happiness, is easily broken.

4. According to Chesterton, what symbol explains to way that mysticism clarifies the world?
(a) The sun.
(b) The moon.
(c) A mountain.
(d) The ocean.

5. In the middle of Chapter One, why does Chesterton say this book is a joke on him?
(a) He went looking for something that is already known.
(b) He does not take its content seriously.
(c) No one around him agrees with his argument.
(d) He wrote it so he could win a bet.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Chesterton say that satire is disappearing from modern literature?

2. What thing does Chesterton despise more than anything else?

3. At the beginning of Chapter III, The Suicide of Thought, why does Chesterton say that the modern world is too good?

4. According to Chesterton, what keeps a man sane?

5. According to Chesterton at the beginning of the first chapter, why did he write the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. The only authority for Chesterton's argument is the Apostles' Creed. Is this more or less effective than appealing to the Bible as the sole authority?

2. Chesterton asserts that though the world has its share of evils, the modern virtues actually have a more devastating effect. How does he support this radical idea? What relationship does this have to Christianity?

3. According to Chesterton, the complete skeptic knows that he cannot think anything. How does this differ from the young skeptic? How does the complete skeptic show a true awareness of where he is?

4. Chesterton explains that a madman's mind moves in a small, perfect circle. What does he mean with this picture? How does it relate to the movements of a sane man's mind?

5. In the example of the explorer who only discovers his own land, Chesterton says that his first emotion might be foolishness. This should not be the sole emotion, though. Why does Chesterton name foolishness as the first emotion and how might this fit the religious explorer?

6. In Chapter IV, The Ethics of Elfland, what does Chesterton give as the first two principles of democracy? How does he convey a sense of wonder even in these principles?

7. "But it is a much more massive and important fact that he [the materialist] is not free to raise, to curse, the thank, to justify, to urge, the punish, to resist temptation, to incite mobs, to make New Year resolutions, to pardon sinners, to rebuke tyrants, or even to say 'thank you' for the mustard" (Chesterton 2000, pg 185). What is the context for this statement? Does it logically follow from Chesterton's argument?

8. Chapter II, The Maniac, begins with the idea that man believing in himself is a weakness. Chesterton asserts this in the face of modern thinking, which says believing in oneself is the strongest way to live. What reasons does Chesterton give for asserting this statement?

9. Materialistic fatalism has been credited with being merciful, though Chesterton says this is far from the truth. Why can fatalism not be merciful?

10. Considering the fact that elf land is more rational than the scientific world is, why does Chesterton say that magic flourishes in elf land?

(see the answer keys)

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