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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 much capital did Lessing's father take to Southern Rhodesia?

2. What did Doris insist on having with her in the photograph for which she posed?

3. According to Lessing, where do most of the good biographers live?

4. Why did Lessing not like the clothes that her mother had made for her?

5. What kind of food were the children fed at the convent that Lessing stayed in as a child?

Short Essay Questions

1. Quoting a recent historian, to what major event does Lessing attribute current feelings of mistrust toward the government?

2. While their mother was bedridden, what did Lessing and her brother do?

3. In your opinion, why does Lessing trace her lineage in the opening chapter?

4. Describe the circumstances that led to Alfred's depression.

5. What essential skill did Lessing learn in Chapter 5?

6. Describe Lessing's outlook on the future of the world and human society.

7. According to Lessing in Chapter 2, what is the role of truth in autobiographical writing?

8. In Chapter 6, what was Lessing's mother's primary concern about the children?

9. In Chapter 8, how did the girls at the school avoid exams?

10. According to Lessing's memory, how did she learn to interact with people around her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the way in which Lessing presented her relationship with her mother. Did she respect or resent her mother? What strained their relationship? Why did Lessing's mother disapprove of Lessing's choices? Ultimately, how did Lessing reflect on her relationship with her mother?

Essay Topic 2

During her young adult years, Lessing becomes affiliated with the Communist Party of Southern Rhodesia - at the time, considered a very political party for a young British woman to join. Discuss Lessing's initial feelings regarding the Communist Party, as well as the changes that occurred to that opinion during the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. What was Lessing's political stance at the time of her autobiography? How does she comment on the ideals and implementation of Socialism or Communism? How would instituting a Communist government in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) have been different than instituting a Communist government in Europe?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Lessing's perspective on social and political activism. How did Lessing connect theory and praxis? Were the people whom she associated with isolated intellectuals or were they activists for a particular cause? How did Lessing portray activist causes throughout her autobiography? What did she advocate?

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