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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Merton want to live in the world?
(a) As a religious teacher.
(b) As a good and righteous lay person.
(c) As a chaplain in the military.
(d) As a monk.

2. Where is Merton's brother sent while Thomas is joining the monastery?
(a) On bombing raids over Europe.
(b) To join their relatives in Europe.
(c) On a ship to the Pacific.
(d) To visit the Baroness in Canada.

3. What country does Merton visit while waiting to enter the novitiate?
(a) Cuba.
(b) Argentina.
(c) Brazil.
(d) Mexico.

4. What does Merton say in Part 2, Chapter 2, will not save his mind from its state of sin?
(a) A trip to the hospital.
(b) Occasional trips to church.
(c) Learning about philosophy.
(d) Summers in the country.

5. What does Merton neglect to mention to the abbot?
(a) His philosophical doubts.
(b) His travels to Rome.
(c) The sins of his past.
(d) His academic ranking at the university.

6. What does Merton say he needs when he begins talking about being a priest?
(a) A rule designed to detach him from the world.
(b) A rule that would prepare him to teach at the university.
(c) A rule that would allow him to do community outreach.
(d) A rule that would lead him to parish ministry.

7. Why does Merton go to Friendship House often?
(a) He needs the support of those who really loved Christ.
(b) He needs to be around women.
(c) He wants recognition for his work.
(d) He wants to be useful as a layperson.

8. How could Merton have registered for the draft?
(a) As a lay person.
(b) As a religious person.
(c) As a conscientious objector.
(d) As a lay person.

9. Who does Merton talk to when he first starts to tell people he wants to be a priest?
(a) Mark Van Doren.
(b) Robert Lax.
(c) Dan Walsh.
(d) Ed Rice.

10. What does Merton want Father Edmund to do for him in regard to the novitiate?
(a) He wants Father Edmund to come with him to visit several monasteries.
(b) He wants Father Edmund to find a way to implement early admission to the monastery.
(c) He wants Father Edmund to call the abbot and apologize for Merton's behavior.
(d) He wants Father Edmund to stop trying to push him into a particular religious order.

11. When does Merton plan to make a retreat at Gethsemani when writing to the Abbott?
(a) At Easter.
(b) In September.
(c) In the following year.
(d) At Christmas.

12. What does Merton have to do upon joining the monastery?
(a) He must take a physical examination to prove his endurance.
(b) He must contact the draft board to inform them of his novitiate.
(c) He must talk with others in the novitiate about their calling.
(d) He must confess the sins of his past to the Master of Novices.

13. What details of war make Merton uncomfortable?
(a) The experiences of the infantry.
(b) Bombing raids and the death of innocent people.
(c) The hierarchy of the military.
(d) The destruction of monasteries.

14. What is Merton's role at Friendship House?
(a) He works as a priest.
(b) He is a guest of the owner.
(c) He is a volunteer.
(d) He raises money for the administration.

15. Why does Merton register for the draft in the way that he does?
(a) He follows the advice of his religious teachers.
(b) He is morally opposed to war.
(c) He opposes the methods of warfare.
(d) He wants to gain attention and fame.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many countries has Merton lived in by the time war breaks out?

2. Where does Merton first apply for a novitiate?

3. What does Merton write in his draft papers?

4. What narrative convention does Merton use repeatedly in this book?

5. What is Friendship House?

(see the answer keys)

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