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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. Who sent Brooks an email responding to a column he wrote that Brooks says explains the mythology of his book?
(a) A veterinarian named Dave Jolly.
(b) A former teacher of Brooks' named Selena Jeffries.
(c) A religious leader named Joel Jacobs.
(d) A writer named Emily Smith.

2. When did Day officially join the Catholic Church?
(a) 1956.
(b) 1918.
(c) 1927.
(d) 1935.

3. Where was Frances Perkins born?
(a) Chicago.
(b) New York City.
(c) Boston.
(d) Los Angeles.

4. In the Introduction, how does Brooks say people of great virtue make other people feel?
(a) Smaller and less intelligent.
(b) Funnier and smarter.
(c) Suspicious.
(d) Angry.

5. What terms does Brooks use to describe a life of humility versus a life of egotism in Chapter 1?
(a) Big river and Little River.
(b) Big Me and Little Me.
(c) Big Life and Little Life.
(d) Big Lies and Little Lies.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Perkins' mother tell her as a young girl she should always wear?

2. Who led a factory strike in 1909 to try to help female industrial workers improve their work conditions?

3. What did Perkins' grandmother tell her to do when social disaster strikes?

4. Which well-known WWII general did Dwight Eisenhower serve under and have a low opinion of?

5. Who was Frances Perkins married to?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Brooks describe Adam I in the Introduction?

2. How does Brooks describe Adam II in the Introduction?

3. How does Brooks define the so-called "Big Me" culture?

4. What two types of virtues does Brooks open the book by laying out the differences between?

5. In Chapter 1, what trait does Brooks feel was more common in most people in the WWII-era than it is today?

6. What was Hull House modeled after?

7. What is the main difference between a career and a vocation as Brooks describes it?

8. Why did Perkins take a job teaching at Cornell University in 1957 although the pay was very little?

9. What was a tactic Dwight Eisenhower used to manage his anger and emotions that involved writing?

10. Why did Dorothy Day move to New York at age 18 and what kind of work did she end up doing at first?

(see the answer keys)

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