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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. In the introduction, where does Brooks say the majority of thinking takes place?

2. According to Brooks at the beginning of Chapter 1, what large accessory do his social ascendants always have?

3. In Chapter 1, Antonio Damasio determines that - without emotion - people lead what type of lives?

4. By the end of Chapter 6, Ms. Taylor has taught Harold to do what?

5. How much more likely are people to laugh with others than by themselves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Composure Class?

2. How did Julia and Rob find marriage in the early years?

3. How is Brooks' book different from other social studies?

4. How does Brooks use the meeting of Julia and Rob to illustrate the surprise of similarities?

5. Describe Ms. Taylor.

6. How does Ms. Taylor permanently affect Harold's life?

7. How did Brooks come up with the idea of telling a story to illustrate his social critique?

8. What did John Bowlby's research reveal about childhood?

9. What does Damasio determine about living without emotion in Chapter 1?

10. Describe young Harold's relationship with falling things.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "The Social Animal", the candidate Richard Grace is clearly modeled on Barack Obama. In an essay, compare the two men's biographies. How are their paths to the presidency similar? What does each man instinctively understand about society? What draws people to this understanding of the world? Discuss whether you think this is a positive or negative portrayal of the Obama movement in 2008.

Essay Topic 2

Much of the latter half of "The Social Animal" is dedicated to the marriage between Harold and Erica. Write an essay charting the trajectory of this marriage. What attracts Erica to Harold and vice versa? Discuss the conflict that nearly tears them apart and how the two manage to make the marriage work? What is the state of the marriage in the last year of their lives?

Essay Topic 3

In "The Social Animal", David Brooks makes definite policy arguments, informed by the circumstances of Harold and Erica's lives. Write a two-part essay about these policy proposals and their connection to the narrative:

Part 1) Discuss Erica's experience at Intercom. What issues do Erica and Raymond discover while they work there? What policy proposals do they make to the investors? How does this narrative indicate policy proposals Brooks would make regarding private industry?

Part 2) What conclusions does Harold come to while working at a Washington think tank? How do these proposals reflect his personal experience? What do these proposals seem to bear in mind about human nature that current public policy does not?

(see the answer keys)

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