One of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest attributes may have been his ability to recover and learn from failure.

One of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest attributes may have been his ability to recover and learn from failure.

One of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest attributes may have been his ability to recover and learn from failure. The quality of perseverance seemed especially useful to him as he struggled with “melancholy” (what might now be called depression). Please read this article by Joshua Wolf Shenk. Read the full article; it’s worth your time. Your answer should contain information from this article only. Do not use other sources).

Two questions for you to answer:

[a] Joshua Wolf Shenk wrote that one of Lincoln’s adaptation strategies was “transcendence” (rising above or even using “melancholy” to achieve a higher purpose). According to Shenk, what was Lincoln’s “higher purpose?” Provide a direct quotation from the article to support your analysis. The answer should be 200 words minimum.

[b] What idea or insight in the full article would you recommend to others (a friend, perhaps)? Provide a direct quotation from the article to support your analysis. The answer should be 200 words minimum.

*Important reminder: It’s essential to use quotation marks or block indentation when you incorporate any language from any source. It’s equally important to avoid a “deceptive” or “patchwork paraphrase” (changing or adding occasional words, but otherwise using the author’s core ideas and phraseology without attribution). Click here for guidance from the University of Wisconsin on the difference between permissible and impermissible paraphrasing. Click here for guidance from Harvard University on the kinds of “common knowledge” you are not required to quote or cite. If in doubt, it’s always prudent to include quotation marks and a citation.

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“What is a man If his chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more . . .

He that made us with such large discourse,

Looking before and after, gave us not

That capability and godlike reason

To fust in us unused.”

— Hamlet, 4 Scene 4