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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 is the name of the son in Death of a Salesman that Viorst uses as an example of the restricting roles some parents foist on their children?

2. As our parents grow old, get sick, and die, we learn to do what in relation to imperfect connections?

3. Which philosopher does Viorst quote in Chapter 14?

4. Viorst contends that our unconscious sexual thoughts toward friends are masked as what?

5. What are the names of Viorst's three sons?

Short Essay Questions

1. What can happen as a result of a mother's fear that her child's psyche is fragile? How can this affect the child?

2. How did Viorst's three friends approach death differently?

3. Which necessary loss is discussed in Chapter 12?

4. According to the book, why are friends so important?

5. According to the book, when does the way we will handle aging begin?

6. In thinking about losses as a lifelong theme, name some of the juxtapositions that Viorst discusses in Chapter 20.

7. Other than a parent, what other things impact who a child becomes?

8. Viorst describes a sort of "opposites attract" type marriage relationship where each party meets a neurotic need of the other party. What did she call this type of arrangement?

9. What happens in our thirties, in relation to our parents?

10. According to Freud, is it unusual to have sexual feelings toward friends? How does this impact our friendships with the opposite sex?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sigmund Freud first discovered and described the Oedipus complex. Write an essay about the beginning of this complex, why it was named after Oedipus, and how it continues to impact modern psychology. Using support from the book and your own life, discuss why or why not you may agree or disagree with Freud and Viorst's view of this theory.

Essay Topic 2

Viorst describes various types of guilt throughout Chapter 9. Describe what they are, how they differ, and whether each one serves to help us or negatively impact us.

Essay Topic 3

What important steps in human development take place at middle age? Discuss how we continue to define who we are through this process.

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