American Renaissance/Romanticism Unit Test

Directions: Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow

Passage 1

These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. I remember an answer which when quite young I was prompted to make to a valued adviser who was wont to importune me with the dear old doctrines of the church. On my saying, What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within? my friend suggested,"But these impulses may be from below, not from above." I replied, "They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the devil's child, I will live then from the devil." No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it....from "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)

Passage 2

The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit tofor I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so wellis still an impure one: to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual. Even the Chinese philosopher was wise enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire. Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at least which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow-men....from "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau (1849)

1. Both authors express disapproval for which of the following?

A.

the failures of democracy

B.

the suppression of instinct

C.

the doctrines of religion

D.

the defects of character

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2. In passage 1, what does Emerson find most objectionable about tradition?

A.

It overlooks an individual's conscience.

B.

It does not reward honesty and goodness.

C.

It is associated too closely with religion.

D.

It encourages unlawful behavior.

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3. In passage 2, how does Thoreau see the current state of democracy under which he lives?

A.

as oppressive and corrupt

B.

as just and equitable

C.

as a perfect system

D.

as an improvement

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4. Which of the following is a theme common to both passages?

A.

one's sense of individuality

B.

one's understanding of life

C.

the ambition to succeed

D.

the perseverance to endure

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5. Both Emerson and Thoreau were important figures in the movement known as American transcendentalism, which was a reaction against eighteenth-century rationalism. How is this idea represented by the two authors?

A.

They portray the world optimistically.

B.

They emphasize feeling and intuition.

C.

They encourage others to take action.

D.

They question the idea of authority.

6. According to the poet in Thanatopsis, what will happen to his listeners after they die?

A. They will be buried in kings tombs.

B. They will be buried far out at sea.

C. They will become less bitter.

D. They will become part of the earth.

7. The title Thanatopsis means

A. a vision of death.

B. the process of decaying.

C. a metamorphosis or transformation.

D. a feeling of euphoria or well-being.

8. Which line is in iambic pentameter?

A. And the tide rises, the tide falls.

B. The day returns, but never more . . .

C. Of ages glide away, the sons of men . . .

D. From his footprints flowed a river . . .

9. In The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls, the oceans waves efface the footprints in

the sands. What does the word efface mean?

A. wipe away, erase

B. deepen, make more prominent

C. form new footprints

D. follow the trail of human footprints

10. Bryants line Shall send his roots abroad, and pierce thy mold is an example of iambic _______.

A. trimeter

B. tetrameter

C. pentameter

D. hexameter

11. In The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, to what do these lines refer?

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sands . . .

A. the footprints of the curlew

B. the hostlers footprints

C. the travelers footprints

D. the footprints of the steeds

12. What is the best summary of these lines from The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls?

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls

A. Because it is nighttime, the sea is calling.

B. Dark clouds cause the noises of the sea.

C. The village is agitated because of the calling of the sea.

D. Even though the night is quiet, the sea is not.

13. In Nature, what does Emerson mean by the metaphor in the following statement?

In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue.

A. Virtuous and friendly humans enjoy good health.

B. The air is friendly to people who are in good health.

C. When one is in good health, the air itself is a delicious and healthy drink.

D. Pure and healthy air is incredibly friendly to human beings.

14. As a joint-stock company in Emersons metaphor from Self-Reliance, what does society require from people?

A. to make bread for its members who have conformed

B. to conform to become members of the company

C. surrender of liberty to become part of the larger culture

D. conformity and surrender of liberty in order to gain resources

15. How might a reader question the following text from Self-Reliance?

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.

A. The reader might reflect on personal experience to judge the statement.

B. The reader might show that the word thyself is archaic, or outdated.

C. The reader might defend the statement because it is written by a famous American philosopher.

D. The reader might research the facts on how the heart functions.

16. Which view of nature does Emerson take?

A. Nature is indifferent to human suffering.

B. Nature must be studied and dissected.

C. Urban dwellers have little conception of the cruelty of nature.

D. Nature can inspire the human spirit.

17. What is the implication of the following image from Nature?

To a man laboring under calamity, the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it.

A. The heat of ones fire should give warmth and pleasure.

B. Fire can be a sad thing to watch.

C. Sometimes a fireplace can be too warm.

D. Feeling the heat of ones fire is often a sad experience.

18. Which of these statements best characterizes the central idea of Self-Reliance?

A. Meekness is the virtue that fosters self-awareness.

B. Rely on your own instincts.

C. Social customs serve a valuable purpose.

D. Cruelty may be necessary to achieve philosophical goals.

19. Emersons romanticism is most clearly displayed in his

A. careful descriptions of nature.

B. exaggerated sense of loneliness.

C. logically constructed arguments.

D. reliance on emotional truth.

20. In Self-Reliance, Emerson writes that society loves not realities and creators, but names and customs. Which of these adjectives best reflects Emersons attitude in that statement?

A. disapproving

B. accepting

C. encouraging

D. forgiving

21. Why does Emerson allude to individuals such as Socrates, Jesus, and Galileo in Self-Reliance?

A. to suggest that they agreed with his philosophy

B. to encourage readers to learn about historical figures

C. to inspire readers through the example of their struggles

D. to question their contribution