Unit Test

According to "Civil Disobedience," what happens before Thoreau is put into prison?
He does not pay the poll tax for six years.

Based on Thoreau’s opinion about the Mexican-American War and slavery in the United States, why did he most likely refuse to pay the poll taxes, as described in "Civil Disobedience"?
He disagreed with the government’s actions.

Which statement best describes the rhythm of "Song of Myself"?
The rhythm is very similar to the rhythm of everyday speech.

When Emerson states, “It by no means follows that we are not fit for society, because soirees are tedious,” in Society and Solitude, how does he support his statement?
He suggests that a person has one conception of one’s self when in a group and another when with just one other person.

What attitude toward scientific knowledge does “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” express?
The poem suggests that scientific knowledge is the opposite of inner knowledge.

Read the quotation from "Song of Myself."
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.
Which statement best summarizes the theme that these lines suggest?
The self is complex and an integral part of nature.

Read the third stanza of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Why does Dickinson most likely repeat the word “passed” three times in this stanza?
The words convey a sense of steady motion.

Read this quotation from Chapter I of Nature.
To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.
Which sentence from Nature best supports Emerson’s claim?
The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.

What attitude toward nature does “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” express?
The poem suggests that attempts to grasp the natural world through science are useless.

In "Auspex," the phrase “dead leaves and snow” at the end of the first stanza implies that the speaker is experiencing
an absence of love or passion.

Thoreau’s actions in "Civil Disobedience" and the 1955 bus boycott are similar because both Thoreau and the boycotters were
protesting unjust government policy in a peaceful way.

How are the speakers’ sense of goals different in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church"?
The speaker in the former knows exactly what her goal is, while the speaker in the latter believes that she has already achieved it.

Read the third stanza of "Song of Myself."
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Which statement best describes the effect of the language in this stanza?
It establishes that the speaker of the poem will be frank and honest.

Read the line from "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church."
I just wear my Wings –
What does this line illustrate about the speaker’s view of spirituality?
that her personal beliefs are all she needs

How is the concept of friendship portrayed in both Society and Solitude and Chapter I of Nature?
Friendship is considered to be valuable but not necessarily vital.