Bright Romanticism: American Individualism — Test

Question 1

How do the settings of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church" differ?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Traveling in the former represents a journey toward death, while the setting of the latter shows that the speaker is well grounded.

Question 2

How are the speakers’ sense of goals different in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church"?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

The speaker in the former knows exactly what her goal is, while the speaker in the latter believes that she has already achieved it.

Question 3

Why is the image of the setting sun most likely not described in great detail in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

It is a common symbol of death that requires little description.

Question 4

What does Emerson argue should be the basis of human actions in the second paragraph of “Self-Reliance”?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

confidence in one’s intelligence and inner worth

Question 5

Which quotation from "Self-Reliance" best summarizes Emerson’s view on belief in oneself?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

Bright Romanticism: American Individualism — Test Answers