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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Styron say depression is like?
2. What does the suicide of another of Styron's friends lead him to believe?
3. In what way does Styron's depression come upon him?
4. What is the old term for depression?
5. What characteristic of depression make Styron's memoir limited in benefit?
Short Essay Questions
1. What did the suicides of several of his friends, who had distinguished careers and were obviously intelligent and known for their strong character, cause Styron to do? How was his beliefs opposed to the general public view?
2. Why was depression such a hard thing for Styron in 1985?
3. Why did Styron say it was so hard for family members to accept a person's suicide, and what did they usually do about it?
4. What indications of Gary's depression did Styron mention?
5. What happened to Styron as his depression progressed?
6. What was Styron doing that was harming him, making his depression worse, though he thought it was helping?
7. What event caused Styron to realize he needed to go to the hospital?
8. As Styron contemplated and planned for his suicide, what two feelings did he describe?
9. What did Styron say about his physical condition after he got released from the hospital?
10. What did the diary represent to Styron? What did he do with it?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss how Styron's depression and the influence of the writings of his friends impacted his writing. Discuss the influences can we see of not only his own depression, but the writings of Camus on Styron's work.
Essay Topic 2
The title of Styron's book, "Darkness Visible," comes from a quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost," describing Hell. Discuss why Styron might have chosen such a work to quote from. What about his condition might have led him to be attracted to such a work? What is the significance of choosing a quote describing hell to open his memoir on depression?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss what Styron's purpose is for writing "Darkness Visible." What might he want us to know and understand about his subject? Include what he states openly as well as what you understand him to want to say. Why does he think it is important to make us understand this?
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This section contains 1,006 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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