WorksheetsTranscendentalism Emerson and Thoreau
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 15mins
Why did Thoreau decide to build a cabin on Walden Pond?
Thoreau's brother died, so he decided he did not like city life; he wanted a simple life of solitude.
Thoreau wanted to see if he could live alone for two years.
Thoreau loved to fish and swim in a pond.
Thoreau built the cabin for his fiance to live in.
Why did Thoreau choose to live in the woods?
to avoid other people
to live meaningfully
to get closer to nature
to challenge himself to do so
Transcendentalism is...
a love of people
an ideal way of life
a way to transcend the way we garden
a religion of philosophy to love nature and trust emotions rather than reason
According to Thoreau, contentment is
boring.
desirable.
common.
impossible.
Thoreau's home on Walden Pond could best be described as a
tent.
cabin.
mansion.
houseboat.
Thoreau decided to leave Walden Pond because he
had grown lonely.
felt that it was time to do other things.
didn't find what he had hoped to find there.
knew that he would never truly feel at home there.
Which of the following quotations contains a simile?
"I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear."
"Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one."
"I took up my abode..on Independence day, or the fourth of July, 1845."
"The very dew seemed to hang upon the trees later into the day than usual, as on the sides of mountains."
When Thoreau says, "I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another," he means that physical closeness
is enough.
is all that people can really hope for.
doesn't guarantee intellectual or spiritual closeness.
can feel the same as intellectual or spiritual closeness
Transcendentalism had many leaders, name three.
Dial, Rolly, and Emily
Waldo, Ralph, and Elizabeth
Poe, Keets, and Espree
Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller
Transcendentalists believed that the way to discover spirituality is:
to openly trust what people told you to believe.
to look inwards and connect to nature to discover self.
to always follow the rules of life.
to read often, discover what others think, then decide your own thoughts.
What are the three essential characteristics or principles of Transcendntalism?
People are inherently evil and nature deceives.
Material things will lead you to want more and nature will not.
The good in this earth is in good people and the most colorful flowers of nature.
Individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature are essential.
What did Emerson value?
Emerson valued individualism, self-worth, and embracing one's strengths and instincts.
Emerson valued his house, wife, and children.
Emerson valued the thoughts of others.
Emerson valued what the literature of his day revealed.
What is the main theme of Emerson's essay 'Self-Reliance'?
A) The importance of societal norms
B) The value of individual intuition and self-trust
C) The necessity of material wealth
D) The benefits of technological advancement
Which of the following best describes Thoreau's experiment at Walden Pond?
A) A social experiment to live with others
B) A scientific study of pond ecosystems
C) An attempt to live simply and self-sufficiently
D) A project to build a large community
In Transcendentalist philosophy, what is considered the ultimate source of truth?
A) Scientific research
B) Government authority
C) Personal intuition and nature
D) Historical texts
