R. W. Emerson – The American Scholar – Exam Based MCQs
1. “The American Scholar” was delivered by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Henry David Thoreau
B) Walt Whitman
C) R. W. Emerson
D) Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ans: C) R. W. Emerson
2. “The American Scholar” was originally: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) a novel chapter
B) a Phi Beta Kappa address
C) a dramatic monologue
D) a lyric poem
Ans: B) a Phi Beta Kappa address
3. The address was delivered in: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) 1836
B) 1837
C) 1845
D) 1854
Ans: B) 1837
4. Emerson delivered “The American Scholar” before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Yale
B) Princeton
C) Oxford
D) Cambridge / Harvard
Ans: D) Cambridge / Harvard
5. The full title is often given as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) The American Scholar: An Oration delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society
B) The Scholar and the Republic
C) The New American Mind
D) Nature and the Scholar
Ans: A) The American Scholar: An Oration delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society
6. Emerson’s address is strongly associated with which movement? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Naturalism
B) Transcendentalism
C) Symbolism
D) Realism
Ans: B) Transcendentalism
7. The main purpose of “The American Scholar” is to: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) praise European imitation
B) call for an independent American intellectual life
C) attack all books
D) support industrial capitalism only
Ans: B) call for an independent American intellectual life
8. Oliver Wendell Holmes famously called this address: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) a pastoral sermon
B) America’s literary preface
C) an intellectual Declaration of Independence
D) a social comedy
Ans: C) an intellectual Declaration of Independence
9. Emerson argues that the scholar should not merely be a: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) creator
B) thinker
C) parrot of other men’s thoughts
D) representative person
Ans: C) parrot of other men’s thoughts
10. Emerson describes the scholar as “Man Thinking” rather than: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Man Writing
B) Man Reading
C) mere thinker in isolation
D) a mere thinker reduced to a bookworm / parrot
Ans: D) a mere thinker reduced to a bookworm / parrot
11. According to Emerson, the first influence on the scholar is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) politics
B) society
C) nature
D) wealth
Ans: C) nature
12. The second major influence on the scholar, according to Emerson, is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) books
B) labor
C) prayer
D) commerce
Ans: A) books
13. The third major influence on the scholar is: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) action
B) silence
C) religion
D) memory
Ans: A) action
14. Emerson values books, but warns that they may become dangerous when: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) they are too short
B) they replace independent thinking
C) they are printed cheaply
D) they discuss nature
Ans: B) they replace independent thinking
15. Emerson says books are best used in the scholar’s: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) youth only
B) idle times / intervals of darkness
C) political speeches only
D) daily business
Ans: B) idle times / intervals of darkness
16. Emerson believes that action is important because it: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) distracts from thought
B) completes and tests thought
C) destroys scholarship
D) weakens the mind
Ans: B) completes and tests thought
17. The “one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul,” according to Emerson. This means he values: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) passive obedience
B) living, creative inner energy
C) inherited tradition alone
D) wealth and position
Ans: B) living, creative inner energy
18. Emerson criticizes the American scholar for becoming too dependent on: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) American experience
B) European models and traditions
C) nature
D) labor
Ans: B) European models and traditions
19. Emerson’s ideal scholar should be primarily: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) conventional
B) imitative
C) self-reliant and original
D) aristocratic
Ans: C) self-reliant and original
20. The address urges America to stop being intellectually dependent on: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Asia
B) Africa
C) Europe
D) Latin America
Ans: C) Europe
21. Emerson’s famous call in the address is for: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) scholarship unrelated to life
B) a new, American-minded scholar
C) rejection of all education
D) political office for professors only
Ans: B) a new, American-minded scholar
22. The scholar, Emerson says, is “the delegated intellect.” This means the scholar represents the: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) king
B) common human mind / society’s higher thought
C) church only
D) university administration
Ans: B) common human mind / society’s higher thought
23. Emerson fears that when the scholar loses independence, he becomes: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) “Man Thinking”
B) “thinking man” in the best sense
C) a mere thinker, bookworm, or parrot
D) a hero of democracy
Ans: C) a mere thinker, bookworm, or parrot
24. Emerson’s tone in “The American Scholar” is best described as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) comic and trivial
B) prophetic and exhortatory
C) detached and cold
D) purely sentimental
Ans: B) prophetic and exhortatory
25. A major theme of the address is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) imitation of classical Europe
B) intellectual independence
C) political monarchy
D) industrial management
Ans: B) intellectual independence
26. Emerson’s prose style in this address is notable for: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) legal precision only
B) aphoristic, elevated, and rhetorical force
C) slang and humor only
D) dramatic dialogue
Ans: B) aphoristic, elevated, and rhetorical force
27. Emerson’s scholar should derive wisdom directly from: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) inherited dogma alone
B) life, nature, books, and action critically used
C) royal authority
D) party politics
Ans: B) life, nature, books, and action critically used
28. “The American Scholar” is often read as a call for: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) passive scholarship
B) national cultural self-definition
C) rejection of America
D) anti-literary feeling
Ans: B) national cultural self-definition
29. Emerson argues that the true scholar must trust: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) only textbooks
B) public opinion
C) himself and his own perception
D) church decrees
Ans: C) himself and his own perception
30. The address opposes the idea that scholarship should be: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) connected to life
B) dynamic and original
C) dead, pedantic, and imitative
D) morally serious
Ans: C) dead, pedantic, and imitative
31. Emerson’s lecture is best categorized as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) reflective oratorical prose
B) war memoir
C) pastoral elegy
D) Gothic tale
Ans: A) reflective oratorical prose
32. The scholar’s duty, according to Emerson, is to: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) preserve custom without question
B) awaken and guide society through thought
C) avoid action completely
D) submit to Europe’s authority
Ans: B) awaken and guide society through thought
33. Emerson’s address gives American literature a new direction by urging: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) imitation of British models
B) originality rooted in American experience
C) avoidance of all books
D) aristocratic exclusiveness
Ans: B) originality rooted in American experience
34. Emerson’s “The American Scholar” is NOT mainly about: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) the duties of the scholar
B) the sources of knowledge
C) American intellectual freedom
D) romantic courtship
Ans: D) romantic courtship
35. Which statement is TRUE about “The American Scholar”? (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) It is an 1837 address urging intellectual independence
B) It is a short lyric poem
C) It attacks nature as a source of knowledge
D) It praises imitation of Europe
Ans: A) It is an 1837 address urging intellectual independence
36. Emerson’s scholar is expected to unite: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) theory and life
B) wealth and power
C) church and state
D) poetry and warfare
Ans: A) theory and life
37. Emerson’s lecture is especially important in American literary history because it: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) defines an original American intellectual identity
B) begins the novel tradition
C) rejects democracy
D) supports colonial dependence
Ans: A) defines an original American intellectual identity
38. Emerson’s criticism of mere book-learning suggests that education must be: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) detached from experience
B) linked to direct perception and action
C) limited to libraries
D) based only on memory
Ans: B) linked to direct perception and action
39. The address is optimistic because Emerson believes America can: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) never escape Europe
B) create its own intellectual future
C) only repeat old models
D) reject scholarship entirely
Ans: B) create its own intellectual future
40. Emerson’s ideal in this address is closest to: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) intellectual self-reliance
B) courtly obedience
C) mechanical routine
D) political silence
Ans: A) intellectual self-reliance
41. The lecture’s language frequently uses: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) dull legal formulas
B) memorable aphorisms and elevated rhetoric
C) comic slang only
D) scientific equations
Ans: B) memorable aphorisms and elevated rhetoric
42. “The American Scholar” can be read as a challenge to: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) originality
B) democratic thinking
C) pedantry and second-hand knowledge
D) nature study
Ans: C) pedantry and second-hand knowledge
43. The scholar in Emerson’s vision must be: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) obedient to custom
B) alive to nature, books, and action
C) removed from society forever
D) hostile to labor
Ans: B) alive to nature, books, and action
44. Emerson’s address is still relevant because it asks readers to: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) imitate tradition blindly
B) think independently and live meaningfully
C) reject education
D) avoid social responsibility
Ans: B) think independently and live meaningfully
45. The best short label for the address is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) transcendental call to intellectual independence
B) domestic comedy
C) historical war speech
D) sentimental elegy
Ans: A) transcendental call to intellectual independence
46. Emerson’s address is especially connected with which American value? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) conformity
B) originality
C) imitation
D) passivity
Ans: B) originality
47. The address teaches that knowledge should be: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) inherited passively
B) experienced, tested, and made one’s own
C) borrowed unchanged
D) kept within institutions only
Ans: B) experienced, tested, and made one’s own
48. Emerson’s phrase “Man Thinking” suggests that the scholar must be: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) alive, active, and original in mind
B) silent and obedient
C) merely academic
D) politically neutral only
Ans: A) alive, active, and original in mind
49. Which statement is TRUE about Emerson’s “The American Scholar”? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) It is an 1837 oration to Phi Beta Kappa that urges American originality
B) It is a short story about Harvard
C) It rejects books entirely
D) It praises European dependence
Ans: A) It is an 1837 oration to Phi Beta Kappa that urges American originality
50. The overall message of “The American Scholar” is that: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) true scholarship requires original thought rooted in life, nature, and action
B) books alone are enough for wisdom
C) Europe must remain America’s guide forever
D) scholars should avoid society
Ans: A) true scholarship requires original thought rooted in life, nature, and action
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