Chapter XI: Higher Laws Quiz — Walden Pond
by Henry David Thoreau
Comprehension Quiz: Chapter XI: Higher Laws
What animal does Thoreau encounter at the beginning of "Higher Laws" that fills him with a "strange thrill of savage delight"?
- A deer bounding across a moonlit clearing in the woods
- A woodchuck stealing across his path in the darkness
- A fox darting beneath the underbrush near the pond
- A hawk circling overhead in the twilight sky above
What two opposing instincts does Thoreau say he finds within himself?
- An instinct toward community living and another toward hermit solitude
- An instinct toward a higher spiritual life and another toward a primitive savage one
- An instinct toward scholarly study and another toward manual farm labor
- An instinct toward material accumulation and another toward radical poverty
What advice does Thoreau give to parents who ask whether their boys should be allowed to hunt?
- He tells them hunting is cruel and should be forbidden at all ages
- He says yes, make them hunters, trusting they will eventually outgrow it
- He recommends hunting only after the boys turn sixteen years old
- He suggests replacing hunting with nature journaling and observation
What extended metaphor does Thoreau use to describe the spiritual development of a person who refines their diet?
- A seed growing into a mighty oak tree over many decades
- A caterpillar transforming into a butterfly that barely needs to eat
- A river flowing from muddy headwaters to a clear mountain lake
- A rough stone being polished into a gleaming diamond by nature
What is the only drink Thoreau considers appropriate for a wise man?
- Herbal tea brewed from plants gathered near Walden Pond
- Water, because he prefers the natural sky to artificial intoxication
- Fresh milk obtained from a neighboring farmer's dairy cows
- Fruit juice pressed from wild berries growing in the woods
What does Thoreau say about the relationship between morality and the universe?
- Morality is a human invention with no basis in natural law
- Our whole life is startlingly moral and goodness is the only investment that never fails
- The universe is indifferent to human concepts of right and wrong
- Moral laws apply only to civilized societies, not to nature itself
What happens to John Farmer on the September evening described at the end of the chapter?
- He reads a passage from the Vedas that transforms his understanding of life
- He hears someone playing a flute, which awakens slumbering faculties in him
- He watches the sunset over Walden Pond and resolves to live more simply
- He has a conversation with Thoreau about the meaning of the higher laws
Which of the following events actually happens in "Higher Laws"?
- Thoreau catches and cooks a woodchuck for his evening meal
- Thoreau describes selling his gun before moving to Walden Pond
- Thoreau goes fishing with his neighbor John Farmer at the pond
- Thoreau kills a deer while hunting in the woods near Walden
Which of the following does Thoreau actually say in "Higher Laws"?
- He has never eaten meat and has been a strict vegetarian his entire life
- He could sometimes eat a fried rat with a good relish if it were necessary
- He caught and released all fish, never eating any while at Walden Pond
- He considers coffee and tea essential to a healthy morning routine
What does the word "factitious" mean as Thoreau uses it when he says his objections to fishing were "all factitious"?
- Based on careful factual research and objective evidence
- Artificially created or manufactured rather than genuine or natural
- Related to practical considerations of convenience and effort
- Rooted in deeply felt emotional and spiritual conviction
What does "ebriosity" mean when Thoreau asks, "Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?"
- A state of clarity and mental sharpness achieved through discipline
- A tendency toward habitual drunkenness or intoxication of any kind
- A feeling of melancholy and sadness brought on by isolation
- An excessive attachment to material possessions and comforts
What does "moiling" mean when a voice asks John Farmer, "Why do you stay here and live this mean moiling life?"
- A life of luxurious excess and wasteful self-indulgence
- A life of drudging, hard, monotonous toil without higher purpose
- A life of constant travel and restless wandering from place to place
- A life of social climbing and desperate pursuit of public status
What does Thoreau call chastity in relation to human achievement?
- An outdated ideal that only monks and priests should pursue
- The flowering of man, from which Genius, Heroism, and Holiness succeed
- A necessary sacrifice that leads to loneliness and social isolation
- A temporary discipline useful only during the years of formal education
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