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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. What does Thoreau say, in the epigraph to Part 7, it takes to speak the truth?

2. What does Boorstin say the Renaissance offered to Shakespeare?

3. What did the dithyramb and its derivatives do in Greek history?

4. What did St. Augustine give men in City of God?

5. What does Byron say a sculptor should do in the epigraph to Part 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What innovation do the Homeric epics represent in the culture of the imagination?

2. What was Boccaccio's contribution to Western culture?

3. How do Greek depictions compare with Egyptian symbols?

4. What contribution did the Egyptians make to writing and self-expression?

5. What was St. Augustine's contribution to imaginative culture according to Boorstin?

6. How does Boorstin describe the difference between tragedy and comedy?

7. What is the purpose of life in Buddhist teachings?

8. How does Boorstin describe the birth of drama?

9. How does Boorstin characterize the Gothic style of art?

10. How does Boorstin characterize Shakespeare's role in the development of imaginative works?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do women play so small a part in The Creators? Analyze the text to describe Boorstin's ideas about women and women's contribution to Western culture and the development of the imagination. Are they principally muses instead of creators? Are they principally biological creators instead of artistic creators? How does Boorstin describe women's roles in culture?

Essay Topic 2

Would you recommend The Creators? For what purposes would you recommend The Creators, and what kinds of readers would you not recommend it? What book would you recommend that would cover the same material or provide the same emotional experience in a different way?

Essay Topic 3

Write an evaluative review of The Creators. What is this book's place in culture? What are its uses? Who is its audience? What are its limitations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 745 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample