Henry David Thoreau - Walden - American IndividualismQUESTIONS WITH 100% Accurate solutions +Rationales

In paragraphs three and four of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" in Walden, how does Thoreau contrast the way he lives with the way others live?

A. He believes that his life will last long, whereas he believes others' lives will be quite brief.

B. He considers his life extremely odd and unusual, and he considers others' lives far more sensible.

C. He believes his life to be extremely simple, and he believes others' lives to be needlessly complicated.

D. He considers his way of life easy for him but perhaps too difficult and harsh for other people.

C. He believes his life to be extremely simple, and he believes others' lives to be needlessly complicated.

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry—determined to make a day of it.

How does Thoreau use the imagery of bells in the excerpt?

A. The bells represent festivity.

B. The bells symbolize a spirit of happiness.

C. The bells are a symbol of civilization.

D. The bells represent fate.

C. The bells are a symbol of civilization.

How does the progress of the last paragraph of "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" communicate the main idea of Walden?

A. Just as the paragraph moves from images of the water to those of the earth, Thoreau moves from emotional subjects to more practical subjects.

B. Thoreau moves from gazing at the water to burrowing into the earth, just as the excerpt shows a progress from observation to contemplation.

C. The progress of the paragraph reinforces the increasing comfort Thoreau felt in the natural world.

D. Just as the paragraph moves from gazing at water to digging in the earth, the excerpt moves from minimal knowledge of nature to more in-depth knowledge.

B. Thoreau moves from gazing at the water to burrowing into the earth, just as the excerpt shows a progress from observation to contemplation.

In the second paragraph of "Spring" in Walden, how does the contrast of two time periods aid the development of a theme?

A. Thoreau's description of a burst of light on a winter day resembles his own enlightenment.

B. The introduction of light into a cold, dark setting reflects Thoreau's happiness at being separate from society.

C. Thoreau is surprised by the appearance of spring sunlight, just as he is surprised at the discoveries he makes about nature during the course of his time in the woods.

D. The feeling of happiness Thoreau describes at the changing of the seasons parallels his contentment as his self-knowledge grows.

A. Thoreau's description of a burst of light on a winter day resembles his own enlightenment.

Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. Heaven is under our feet is well as over our heads.

Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in this excerpt?

A. to illustrate the author's calm, contemplative mood

B. to encourage readers to study nature more closely

C. to share the author's views on religion and the afterlife

D. to demonstrate the complexity of animal behavior

A. to illustrate the author's calm, contemplative mood

The repose is never complete. The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox, and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear. They are Nature's watchmen—links which connect the days of animated life.

What natural phenomenon is referred to in this excerpt?

A. the phases of the moon

B. the food chain

C. the rotation of the earth

D. the metamorphosis of animals

B. the food chain

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow.

How does the excerpt relate to today's culture?

A. It supports the idea that people move too quickly and forget to experience the present moment.

B. It supports the idea that care and caution have become increasingly important in modern society.

C. It supports the notion that we are perpetually finding new ways to make progress.

D. It supports the notion that survival depends on our own determination.

A. It supports the idea that people move too quickly and forget to experience the present moment.

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.

Which best describes the purpose of the "thumb-nail" imagery?

A. It illustrates Thoreau's belief that a person's responsibilities should include some manual labor.

B. It illustrates Thoreau's belief that most people waste their time attending to their bodies' needs.

C. It emphasizes Thoreau's belief that people should carefully choose their commitments.

D. It emphasizes Thoreau's belief that people should carefully record their accounts.

C. It emphasizes Thoreau's belief that people should carefully choose their commitments.

I am on the alert for the first signs of spring, to hear the chance note of some arriving bird, or the striped squirrel's chirp, for his stores must be now nearly exhausted, or see the woodchuck venture out of his winter quarters.

How do the images in the excerpt relate to Thoreau's overall quest in Walden?

A. They illustrate that the beginning of spring has a greater meaning for the animal kingdom than for humans.

B. They demonstrate that Thoreau has a greater understanding of animals now than he used to have.

C. They create a connection between Thoreau's experience and the solitary animals that he is observing.

D. They remind readers that humans are not the only beings to notice the arrival of spring.

C. They create a connection between Thoreau's experience and the solitary animals that he is observing.

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.

What belief about life is being described in this excerpt?

A. Individuals eventually learn to appreciate their surroundings.

B. Individuals who follow their dreams eventually attain them.

C. Cultures have a tendency to force their values on individuals.

D. As cultures change, individuals change along with them.

B. Individuals who follow their dreams eventually attain them.

Hardly a man takes a half-hour's nap after dinner, but when he wakes he holds up his head and asks, "What's the news?" as if the rest of mankind had stood his sentinels [soldiers].

Which best describes the "man" Thoreau refers to in the excerpt?

A. He expects others to attend to his needs when he wakes up.

B. He is under constant protection by soldiers.

C. He naps often and is always sleepy.

D. He must have the most up-to-date news at all times.

D. He must have the most up-to-date news at all times.

Based on the ideas in Walden, how would Thoreau most likely feel about recent advances in technology, such as cell phones and handheld computers?

A. He would feel they were important for the public good.

B. He would believe they were beneficial to providing solitude.

C. He would believe they were destructive to a person's thinking ability.

D. He would feel they were impractical compared to earlier inventions.

C. He would believe they were destructive to a person's thinking ability.

In the first paragraph of "Conclusion" in Walden, how does Thoreau explain his departure from the woods?

A. He explains that he left the woods because he had nothing left to write about.

B. He views his departure as a rejection of the idea of living in nature.

C. He explains that he left because he was no longer comfortable in the woods.

D. He explains his departure as the movement from one part of his life to another.

D. He explains his departure as the movement from one part of his life to another.

This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature, a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me.

Which best states what the imagery in the excerpt suggests?

A. Thoreau believes he is the only one to ever experience this type of night.

B. Thoreau believes he is experiencing a perfect night that will never happen again.

C. Thoreau feels like an outsider as he observes the objects in his environment.

D. Thoreau feels as if he is in harmony with the aspects of his environment.

D. Thoreau feels as if he is in harmony with the aspects of his environment.

Which best states the overall structure of Walden?

A. The work describes the effect spending time in nature has on Thoreau, and then explains why it has that effect.

B. The work describes Thoreau's thoughts over the course of a year spent immersed in the natural world.

C. The work compares Thoreau's thoughts before coming to Walden to his thoughts afterward.

D. The work shows how various problems Thoreau had before he came to Walden are solved by his retreat.

B. The work describes Thoreau's thoughts over the course of a year spent immersed in the natural world.