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Quiz about A Thoreau Understanding
Quiz about A Thoreau Understanding

A Thoreau Understanding Trivia Quiz

This quiz will test your knowledge of the life of the influential and multi-talented author Henry David Thoreau. Thank you to portgleep for the quiz title. Best of luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by Triviaballer. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Triviaballer
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
374,147
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
631
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Question 1 of 10
1. In which city was Henry David Thoreau born on July 12, 1817? This city is well-known historically for being one of the starting points of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. Which university did Henry David Thoreau attend from 1833 to 1837 during which he lived at Hollis Hall and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Shortly after college Henry David Thoreau and his brother John opened a grammar school in their home city. However, four years later his brother John died after he became infected with tetanus. What common daily occurrence did John have an accident during that brought on the infection? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. In 1845 Henry David Thoreau built a cabin on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Adjacent to what body of water commonly associated with Thoreau was the cabin located? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. In 1846 Henry David Thoreau was arrested for having six years of delinquent taxes and not paying up when confronted by a tax collector. What type of tax was he specifically arrested for not paying? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Henry David Thoreau is typically associated with nature and in 1846 he made a famous trip to the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. What 5,270 foot peak did Thoreau visit in 1846? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. From 1845 until 1854 Thoreau wrote seven full drafts of what would become one of his masterpieces. What was the subtitle of this work whose main title was shared by the locale of Thoreau's cabin? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. For what man that was executed on December 2, 1859, did Henry David Thoreau provide a famous public plea that defended the man's actions? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Henry David Thoreau was a brilliant man that shared many of his ideas to the world in his writing. How many times did he share a pledge of marriage? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Henry David Thoreau died at the age of 44 in 1862 after never fully recovering from contracting bronchitis in 1859. On his deathbed Thoreau said "Now comes good sailing" and then he uttered his final two words. What were these simple last words? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In which city was Henry David Thoreau born on July 12, 1817? This city is well-known historically for being one of the starting points of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775.

Answer: Concord

 Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to Cynthia Dunbar and John Thoreau who was a pencil maker. Forty-two years earlier the cities of Lexington and Concord saw the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War. Thoreau's contemporary Ralph Waldo Emerson penned the "Concord Hymn" that described the first shot of the revolutionaries at the North Bridge in Concord as the "shot heard round the world".
2. Which university did Henry David Thoreau attend from 1833 to 1837 during which he lived at Hollis Hall and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770?

Answer: Harvard

 Thoreau's grandfather, Asa Dunbar, also attended Harvard and he was the leader of the 1766 Butter Rebellion which is considered the first student protest in the American colonies. Upon graduation Henry David Thoreau declined to purchase his diploma that was made of sheepskin vellum and he made the comment "Let every sheep keep its own skin".
3. Shortly after college Henry David Thoreau and his brother John opened a grammar school in their home city. However, four years later his brother John died after he became infected with tetanus. What common daily occurrence did John have an accident during that brought on the infection?

Answer: Shaving

 Henry David Thoreau was only 25 years old when his older brother tragically died in his arms. For a few years his brother's death, Thoreau worked as a surveyor and pencil maker with his father.
4. In 1845 Henry David Thoreau built a cabin on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Adjacent to what body of water commonly associated with Thoreau was the cabin located?

Answer: Walden Pond

 Walden Pond is a shallow, sediment-rich body of water known as a kettle hole. Located in Concord, Massachusetts, Walden Pond was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. The total shoreline of Walden Pond is 1.7 miles and it reaches a depth of about 100 feet. Thoreau only lived at Walden Pond for two years during which he read and wrote extensively.
5. In 1846 Henry David Thoreau was arrested for having six years of delinquent taxes and not paying up when confronted by a tax collector. What type of tax was he specifically arrested for not paying?

Answer: Poll Tax

 Thoreau refused to pay his poll taxes as a way of expressing his opposition to the Mexican-American War and slavery. Thoreau only spent one night in jail because a family member remitted his unpaid poll taxes against Thoreau's wishes.
6. Henry David Thoreau is typically associated with nature and in 1846 he made a famous trip to the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. What 5,270 foot peak did Thoreau visit in 1846?

Answer: Mount Katahdin

 Thoreau recounted his travels to Maine in a journal known as "The Maine Woods". Located in Baxter State Park, Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in the state of Maine. The first documented ascent of Katahdin came in 1804 when Charles Turner, Jr. reached the summit.
7. From 1845 until 1854 Thoreau wrote seven full drafts of what would become one of his masterpieces. What was the subtitle of this work whose main title was shared by the locale of Thoreau's cabin?

Answer: Life in the Woods

 Interestingly, Thoreau's cabin was not in the wilderness but rather two miles from his family's home. Even so, Thoreau explored much of the area of wilderness near Concord when he wasn't reading or writing at Walden. "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" has themes of personal discovery and self exploration as well as social commentary by Thoreau.
8. For what man that was executed on December 2, 1859, did Henry David Thoreau provide a famous public plea that defended the man's actions?

Answer: John Brown

 John Brown was the leader of a raid on the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry that attempted to start an armed slave revolt. The raid was condemned by many anti-slavery abolitionists but Thoreau showed his support for Brown's actions in a speech known as "A Plea for Captain John Brown". Likely leveraged by Thoreau's writing and speeches, over time John Brown was looked at as a martyr by the abolitionist movement.
9. Henry David Thoreau was a brilliant man that shared many of his ideas to the world in his writing. How many times did he share a pledge of marriage?

Answer: 0

 Henry David Thoreau never married but in 1840 at the age of 23 he sent a letter for a proposal to marriage to Ellen Sewall but she rejected his proposal. While Thoreau is sometimes called a recluse or hermit, he actually spent the majority of his adult life living with either his family or Ralph Waldo Emerson's family.
10. Henry David Thoreau died at the age of 44 in 1862 after never fully recovering from contracting bronchitis in 1859. On his deathbed Thoreau said "Now comes good sailing" and then he uttered his final two words. What were these simple last words?

Answer: Moose and Indian

 Known for his witty mind, on his deathbed Thoreau also said "I was not aware that we had quarreled" after his aunt had asked him if he was at peace with God. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the eulogy that was spoken at Thoreau's funeral. Thoreau's grave is located at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.
Source: Author Triviaballer

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