Examine the relationship between thought, purpose, vision, and ideals. How does Allen intertwine these concepts throughout the text?

Trace Allen’s use of the simile of the mind as a garden throughout the work. How does he develop this simile? What is its impact on his central argument?

Who is Allen’s intended audience, and how has that audience grown since the first publication of the text? Who might benefit from reading this text, and why?

Allen breaks the essay up into seven titled sections. How might the text function differently without the section breaks? How do the breaks affect the text’s pacing?

How does As a Man Thinketh engage with New Thought ideas around healing? Compare and contrast Allen’s ideas with those of earlier New Thinkers like Phineas Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy.

Choose one of the literary devices that Allen repeatedly uses in As a Man Thinketh and analyze its effects. How does it help develop his ideas?

What connection does Allen make between self-sacrifice and personal responsibility? Examine this connection, especially through the lens of his exploration of purpose and achievement in the fourth and fifth sections.

Much of the text centers on metaphysical ideas, including the notions of vision and ideals. How does Allen define these terms, and how does he use them in his survey of the power of thought?