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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. Which of the following facets of human nature fascinated Augustine?

2. What significant civil rights event did Rustin help plan and execute?

3. What was Marshall's first assignment after the death of his wife?

4. What position did Augustine take in the later years of his life?

5. What was George Eliot's given name at birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was Marshall affected by his wife's sudden death?

2. What kind of relationship did Mary Anne Evans (whose pen name was George Eliot) have with her mother?

3. What request did Marshall make for his funeral arrangements?

4. For Augustine, what did the stealing of the pears symbolize?

5. Why did Marshall lose the job of commander of the allied forces in Europe in 1943 to Eisenhower?

6. What was the surprising outcome of Marshall's tense encounter with General Pershing in 1917?

7. What was Augustine's relationship with his mother like?

8. In what ways were Eliot and George Lewes well-matched as a couple?

9. What kind of devotion dominated Eliot's teenage years?

10. What was Bayard Rustin's most significant personal flaw?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two figures that Brooks profiles in the book and write an essay discussing how their lives and experiences exemplify his claim that many people of admirable character "had to go down to go up" (13).

Essay Topic 2

In Brooks' opinion, how is fame and our culture's obsession with celebrity damaging to the country's moral fabric? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining the specific actions and events from Dwight Eisenhower's life that demonstrate his ability to restrain and master his own emotions.

(see the answer keys)

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