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. About how many essay collections and books did G. K. Chesterton write in his lifetime?

2. Before attempting personal essays, what kind of writer was Seymour Krim?

3. What does Tanizaki talk about in "In Praise of Shadows?"

4. Who wrote "The Execution of Tropmann?"

5. Who wrote "Hashis in Marseilles"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the particulars of Ivan Turgenev's "The Execution of Tropmann"?

2. Describe the important events in Lu Hsun's life that impacted his personal essays.

3. M.F.K. Fisher is known for writing primarily about what subject? Beyond this subject, what biographical details has she confronted in her writing?

4. What views is Henry David Thoreau well known for? How did he believe one should live one's life?

5. What is Junichiro Tanizaki's contribution to world literature? How has Tanizaki's writing style been characterized?

6. Describe Walter Benjamin's unfortunate end. How does his essay "Unpacking My Library" relate to this tragic end?

7. What is the subject of E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake"? What is the message White relays about the state of the lake?

8. How did Virginia Woolf's personal background impact her work?

9. Under what circumstances are Lu Hsun's "This Tool is Life" and "Death" written? What are the subjects of these essays?

10. What is the subject of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Crack-Up?" What extended metaphor does he use?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Physical conditions are the subject of Seneca's "Asthma" and Jose Luis Borge's "Blindness."

A) How does each man confront his condition? What is each man's attitude?

B) Seneca's philosophy is said to be Stoic. How does Borge's philosophy, as revealed in "Blindness," compare to the Stoic philosophy?

Essay Topic 2

Michel de Montaigne speaks about the nature of reading and writing in his essays "Of Books" and "On Some Verses of Virgil."

A) What is Montaigne's philosophy of education? What does it mean to acquire and have an education? How does level of education separate people?

B) What is Montaigne's philosophy in regards to borrowing from other sources, including classical authors. Why does he do this borrowing?

Essay Topic 3

"The Fight" by William Hazlitt and "The Execution of Tropmann" by Ivan Turgenev are examples of sub-genres of the personal essay, reportage.

A) What makes each essay an example of reportage?

B) What is each author's opinion on what they are reporting? Are they intrigued, disgusted, objective, etc.?

C) Compare and contrast the tones in both pieces. How does tone relate to reportage?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 918 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample