English III: Wilderness Literature Exam

Instructions: Answer the questions below, each in a fully developed paragraph with specific examples that demonstrate knowledge of the text, notes, and discussion. You may use your wilderness packet, but not any notes. You must use at least 6 different readings in your responses.

1.      How does John Muir’s view of the environment differ from that of Aldo Leopold?
2.      Is the piece by William Cronon a critique of environmentalism or a call to improve it? Defend your answer.
3.      Using at least three sources, make an argument for what should be done to the national parks.
4.      Either defend or critique Rachel Carson’s call for the elimination of DDT.
5.      Is bioregionalism a legitimate answer to the environmental problems the world is facing? Use at least two sources.
6.      Does environmentalism rely too much of fear to change people’s attitudes. Reference Robert Bidinotto and at least one other source in your answer.
7.      What, according to William Cronon, has created the current American belief system about the environment?
8.      Explain Aldo Leopold’s idea of the Land Ethic.
9.      How does Henry David Thoreau use his examination of nature to explain human behavior?