Question 1

There are six steps in forming critical responses. Name three of them.

Accepted Answer

1. Defining what we want to determine. 
2. Acknowledging our emotional response. 
3. Collecting information and considering it. 
4. Evaluating the work or topic within its context. 
5. Accepting those unlike ourselves. 
6. Providing evidence for our opinions.

Question 2

What kinds of activities enhance our ability to think critically?

Accepted Answer

Engaging in the activities of solving problems, challenging assumptions, and recognizing contexts will enhance our ability to think critically.

Question 3

As it does in so many works of art, the literal meaning of William Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us" depends upon understanding the figurative meaning of lines and perhaps of the poem as a whole. Using the distinction between literal and figurative language, identify lines in the poem where meaning depends on translating from figurative to literal language and comment on the meaning of the poem as a whole.
I. Offer examples of figurative speech from the poem.
II. Explain the meaning of the figurative speech.
III. Analyze the meaning of the poem as a whole.
IV. Explain how the meaning depends upon understanding the figurative language.

Accepted Answer

I. Examples of figurative speech from the poem "The world is too much with us" by William Wordsworth include:

- "The world is too much with us; late and soon" - This line uses personification, attributing human qualities to the world, to convey the idea that the world is overwhelming and all-encompassing.
- "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" - This line uses metaphor to compare the pursuit of material wealth to the act of laying waste to our own abilities and potential.

II. The meaning of the figurative speech in the poem can be understood as a commentary on the detrimental effects of materialism and the loss of connection with nature. The personification of the world as overpowering and the metaphor of wasting our powers through getting and spending highlight the speaker's lament for the lack of appreciation for the natural world and the focus on material possessions.

III. The poem as a whole conveys a sense of disillusionment with the modern world and a longing for a deeper connection with nature. The speaker expresses a desire to reconnect with the natural world and escape the superficiality and materialism of society.

IV. The meaning of the poem depends upon understanding the figurative language as it conveys the speaker's emotional response to the disconnect between humanity and nature. Without recognizing the figurative language used to convey the speaker's feelings and observations, the deeper message of the poem may be lost. Understanding the figurative language allows readers to grasp the underlying themes of the poem and the speaker's perspective on the impact of materialism on human existence.

Question 4

The Wordsworth poem that begins "The world is too much with us, late and soon/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" is a personal, critical response to the idea of

Accepted Answer

A)   art as the illusion that there is no art.
B)   jumping to conclusions.
C)   living for only financial gain.
D)   speculating beyond what we know.

Question 5

When it comes to critical thinking, the Dionysian refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   attention to the craft or technique of any endeavor.
B)   emotional or intuitive responses to what we see.
C)   long-range speculation or "sight" based on former experience.
D)   reasoned, rational, coherent thought about what we see.

Question 6

A person who prefers prepackaged genre films such as romance or horror can be considered a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)   Apollonian.
B)   Dionysian.
C)   figuratist.
D)   literalist.

Question 7

The role of the professional critic is to:

Accepted Answer

A)   explain what is popular.
B)   give advice on how we should feel about art.
C)   review or evaluate.
D)   tell us what to watch or see.

Question 8

A work that presents a kind character stricken with a disease stimulates

Accepted Answer

A)   alienation.
B)   a strong religious reaction.
C)   empathy.
D)   critical thinking.

Question 9

According to the chapter, the first step to solving a problem is determining

Accepted Answer

A)   if the problem is definable.
B)   whether a problem exists.
C)   whether the problem has a solution.
D)   whose problem it is.

Question 10

Pauline Kael's scathing review of The Sound of Music, which led to her firing, illustrates what important principle for critics?

Accepted Answer

A)   "Don't jump to conclusions."
B)   "Audiences are often as good judges as professional critics."
C)   "It is important to know what you're looking at."
D)   "Context is essential."

Question 11

Bertold Brecht's alienation effect was designed so that theater audiences could

Accepted Answer

A)   avoid being absorbed in the experience and miss the important political point of theater.
B)   reject ideas of playwrights that might be bad for their character.
C)   reject silly songs and zany behavior so that they could focus on the important work of theater.
D)   become absorbed emotionally in the horrors of the play.

Question 12

As an act of critical thinking, rationalizing is a

Accepted Answer

A)   good exercise because it makes painful things more palatable.
B)   good exercise because it recognizes the context of all actions.
C)   bad exercise because it focuses too much on the context of events.
D)   bad exercise because it makes us feel better about uncomfortable events.

Question 13

Critical thinking about adaptions of Miss Saigon, which reimagines Madame Butterfly, might reasonably lead us to understand how

Accepted Answer

A)   human behavior does not change even though society does.
B)   originals are almost always better than their spinoffs.
C)   originals grow old if not refreshed.
D)   the adaptation might fit changing historical contexts and circumstances.

Question 14

According to Nietzsche, a stage production of the Greek tragedy The Oresteia should

Accepted Answer

A)   absorb viewers emotionally into the horror of the play.
B)   cause viewers to reject their own emotional responses.
C)   humble viewers before the grandeur of the language.
D)   teach viewers about the shortcomings of the characters.

Question 15

If someone uses features such as rhyme and meter to form an understanding of Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us," that person is exercising which step in the process of forming a personal critical response?

Accepted Answer

A)   considering craft and technique
B)   considering form
C)   exploring context
D)   not jumping to conclusions

Question 16

The second personal critical response we should have on seeing an unfamiliar or off-putting kind of art should be

Accepted Answer

A)   asking what it is we have seen or heard.
B)   not jumping to conclusions.
C)   exploring the piece's cultural and artistic history.
D)   considering the underlying craft and technique.

Question 17

Why is historical context important to critical thinking?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is historical context important to critical...

Question 18

Which of the following is a major component of exercising one's critical mind?

Accepted Answer

A)   challenging assumptions
B)   the popcorn syndrome
C)   the empathetic response
D)   the alienation effect

Question 19

What is a literalist?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a literalist?...

Question 20

The hypothetical problem of the missing dollar helps us

Accepted Answer

A)   listen for contradictions and inconsistencies.
B)   understand the challenges of mathematics.
C)   keep an accurate account of our getting and spending.
D)   apply Apollonian principles to a situation.

Exam 2: The Humanities and Critical Thinking