ELA 11

How do "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex" differ in how they describe the concept of time

"Psalm" suggests that the passage of time cannot defeat the soul, while "Auspex" indicates that it can.

Which statement would be included in a summary of the first paragraph of Chapter I of Nature?

The stars at night are beautiful but sometimes unappreciated.

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?

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

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

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

What attitude toward the stars does Emerson express in the first paragraph of Chapter I of Nature?

He feels they represent awe-inspiring beauty.

Read the excerpt from a letter Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote while imprisoned in Birmingham Jail in 1963. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. Based on his behavior in "Civil Disobedience," how would Thoreau most likely feel about King's statement?

He would agree with King that one should engage in polictical protest peacefully.

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

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

What is the purpose of the third stanza of "Auspex"?

It contrasts the image of the birds from the first stanza.

Read the quotation from "A Psalm of Life." Let the dead past bury its dead! What is the effect of the repetition of the word "dead" in this line?

It reinforces the idea that one should live in the present, not in the past.

How does the relationship between "man and vegetable" described in paragraph five of Chapter I of Nature support the piece's central idea?

NOT A. It indicates that a better relationship with the natural world would help improve human society.

Which statement best describes how the author's purpose differs in Chapter I of Nature and Society and Solitude?

NOT A. Nature is an essay in praise of nature's sublimity, while Society and Solitude is an essay in praise of being alone.

Which is the best summary of Emerson's view of solitude expressed in Society and Solitude?

NOT A. Spending time in solitude is preferable to spending time in society, and it is ultimately more beneficial.

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?

NOT A. The bells represent festivity.

How does Emerson relate independence and friendships in Society and Solitude

NOT B. He considers true independence impossible within a friendship

Read the excerpt from Walden. 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?

NOT B. They demonstrate that Thoreau has a greater understanding of animals now than he used to have.

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

NOT D. The feeling of happiness Thoreau describes at the changing of the seasons parallels his contentment as his self-knowledge grows.

How does the second stanza of "Auspex" tie the first and third stanzas together?

NOT: It resolves the crucial problem that is raised in the first and third stanzas.

What is the main idea of the first stanza of "Auspex"?

NOT: My heart is beating very quickly at the moment, and I wonder how long it will last.

The use of the words "stout and brave" suggests that "our hearts" are

NOT: ferocious and fearless.

Which statement best describes how the tone of Society and Solitude is different from the tone of Chapter I of Nature?

Society and Solitude has a contemplative tone, while Nature has a more lyrical and whimsical tone

How is the concept of solitude portrayed in both Society and Solitude and Chapter I of Nature?

Solitude is viewed as a source of strength.

Which best describes the rhyme schemes in "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex"?

The poems follow different rhyme schemes.

According to the third paragraph of Chapter I of Nature, how does Emerson define the poet's view of nature?

The poet sees something in nature that cannot be quantified.

Considering "Civil Disobedience," which best describes how Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. both felt about acts of civil disobedience?

They both believed that individuals have the right and the responsibility to protest unjust laws.

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

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

Which is the best summary of paragraph six of Chapter I of Nature?

To experience nature at its fullest requires mental effort.

The speaker compares his heart to an empty nest in order to

emphasize the fact that his love has left.

[A]s the sun arose, I saw it [the pond] throwing off its nightly clothing of mist, and here and there, by degrees, its soft ripples or its smooth reflecting surface was revealed, while the mists, like ghosts, were stealthily withdrawing in every direction into the woods, as at the breaking up of some nocturnal conventicle [secret meeting]. In the excerpt, Thoreau uses imagery to describe

fog slowly rising from the surface of the pond.

Which best describes the tone shared by "A Psalm of Life" and "Auspex"?

serious

What does each stanza in "Auspex" show?

the different stages of a natural process

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?

to illustrate the author's calm, contemplative mood