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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 Chapter 14, Brooks states that the Recession led to an essential reduction in what?

2. Who introduces Erica to Harold?

3. Which of the following is a condition that Raymond insists on in Chapter 16 is the group prepares its proposals?

4. What does Harold feel takes over his life in Chapter 13?

5. What does Erica do more often after dissolving her business?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Brooks assess the search for harmony in Chapter 13?

2. How do the founders of the Academy view poverty in America?

3. What is limerence?

4. How does the business collapse in Chapter 14?

5. How do Raymond and Erica play major roles in the rebound of Intercom?

6. How does Erica almost get arrested in Chapter 7?

7. How does Brooks describe the relationship between the unconscious and the conscious mind in Chapter 15?

8. What traumatic event occurs to Erica during a tennis match in Chapter 8?

9. Describe Erica's experience at the consulting firm.

10. Describe the ideology of Rationalism.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

In an essay, discuss the role of imagination and play in the development of children. How does Harold's imagination function both as a gift and as a liability? What fears does it engender in his parents? What delineations does Brooks draw between play in affluent children and p[lay in working class children? How does each type of play reflect a cultural stratus, and how does it indicate future development?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about Rationalism as David Brooks presents it in the book. What historical antecedents does Brooks discuss in "The Social Animal"? What events did Rationalism engender? What works did it produce? Discuss what essential truth of human society Rationalism ignores, according to Brooks. What useful information can be gleaned from this philosophy, and what should be discarded?

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