Questions for excerpts from “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. PART A: Which of the following best summarizes a central idea of the text? RI.1.2

A. People should refuse to blindly follow other people’s ideas, and should instead think and act for themselves.

B. Average individuals are smarter and stronger than so-called “geniuses” because they are content with their everyday lives.

C. Greatness comes from refusing to participate in larger society, retreating to the woods, and living freely as one’s own person.

D. All of society’s evils can be traced back to a lack of education and spiritual guidance, as well as an inability to trust one’s own judgment.

2. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A? RI.1.1
A. “We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.” (Paragraph 1)
B. “It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.” (Paragraph 1)
C. “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist... Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind.” (Paragraph 4)
D. “Misunderstood! It is a right fool’s word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood?” (Paragraph 5)