American Lit Practice Test

The Romantic period is a reaction to

• the loss of Puritan beliefs

• A strong central government

• The Industrial Revolution

• The American Revolution

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Romantics?

• Value individialism

• Value intuition over fact

• Value the common man as a hero

• Value inventions and progress

Transcendentalism focuses their writing mainly on the importance of

• Logic and reason

• Insanity and mental illness

• Non-conformity and nature

• Religion and freedom

What does Emerson imply from the following statement in "Nature"? "In the woods is perpetual youth"

• The woods are a place that only young people enjoy visiting.

• The woods attract people who don't want to grow up.

• People feel refreshed and young in the woods.

• The woods are a place the Devil resides.

Which statement best expresses the main idea of these sentences in the selection from Walden? "I had not lived here a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pondside; and though it is five of six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct… The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!"

• Everyone should march to the same tune and conform.

• Establishing habits makes you a conformist.

• Living in isolation is good discipline to become a conformist.

• Humans fall into dull routines all to easily and don't appreciate the here and now.

Dead Poets Society

It was school as usual, until Mr. Keating’s class.  This was where they read poetry in the foyer and Mr. Keating expressed to them, “Carpe Diem!” This means what?

• “Be in a hurry!”

• “Stop trying!”

• “Seize the day!”

• "You can do it!"

Mr. Keating had a student read the introduction to their poetry textbooks during his class and then ordered all of the boys to do what?

• Run a lap around the school.

• Rip out the entire introduction.

• Highlight all the pages containing the introduction.

• Read the introduction out loud.

 After performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and receiving a standing ovation, Neil returned home with his father who chastised him for participating in theater. Later that night, Neil committed suicide. Who does the school ultimately blame for this?

• Mr. Keating

• Todd Anderson

• Neil Perry

• Mr. Perry

The economy in the 1920s prospered for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• frivolous/carefree spending

• illegal liquor sales

• buying on credit

• the presence of God

The 1920s time period is also known as what time period in literature?

• Revolutionaries

• Romanticism

• The Jazz Age

• Post Modernism