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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. How could Dinesen's marriage to Bror be described?

2. What did Dinesen and Bror raise on their farm?

3. Which friend injected some liveliness into Dinesen's life during this time?

4. What could Dinesen not tolerate in Bror?

5. How did the aristocratic landowners in Africa feel about Dinesen?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Dinesen's relationship with her sisters.

2. How did Dinesen and Bror celebrate in Paris after a good coffee harvest in 1918?

3. In addition to diseases, what were some of the losses that Dinesen suffered in her life that made her health fail in 1923?

4. Why did Dinesen not feel any remorse about having an affair with Denys Finch Hatton?

5. Why did Dinesen have difficulty fitting in with the aristocratic landowners in Africa?

6. What decision did Dinesen make to end her period of indecisiveness?

7. Who was Daisy Frijs and why was Dinesen drawn to her?

8. How could Dinesen's marriage to Bror best be described?

9. What mental affliction might Dinesen have suffered from and what was the main symptom?

10. When and where was Isak Dinesen born and by what other names was she known?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the role of Dinesen's family in her life. What impact did Dinesen's father have on her life? What was Dinesen's relationship with her siblings? How did the family evolve in its support of each other? What was the nature of Dinesen's strained relationship with her brother, Thomas?

Essay Topic 2

Independence takes on an almost human persona in this book. What was the source of the depiction of independence in so much of Dinesen's life? How strong were Dinesen's feelings and need for independence? What is this literary technique called? Cite examples that support this position.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the impact that Isak Dinesen had on the world of literature in the 20th century. How was her work perceived? What did she give up in order to create? How did she feel about her own work? How is Dinesen perceived today on the world stage of literature?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 983 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample