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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 will the author respond if talked to about the "truth of religion"?

2. In what way does the author crave to be touched by H.?

3. What religious form would an introduction of a bad God take, according to the author?

4. Who is H.?

5. How does the author know that the end of this life is all about heavenly reunions?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways does Lewis reflect a mother who has lost her child can and cannot find comfort? For what does a mother mourn in that situation?

2. What aspects of religion is Lewis glad to discuss? What aspect of religion is Lewis not willing to accept?

3. Why can Lewis not talk to his children about their mother?

4. Lewis decided to record his reflections to get all his feelings and thoughts out. What does Lewis reflect might be a downside to his journal?

5. What does Lewis find so horrifying about the man he encountered who was tending to his mother's grave? What does Lewis's reaction to the man mean for Lewis's feelings about H.?

6. What was so striking and disturbing about Lewis's encounter with the man he had not seen for 10 years? What image comes to Lewis's mind about memories of H.?

7. Does Lewis believe in the idea of families reuniting on the other side? Upon what does Lewis base his conclusion?

8. Describe some people whom Lewis thinks are having negative reactions to Lewis and his grief?

9. In what ways does Lewis describe H.'s "noble hunger"? Describe the ways that H.'s "noble hunger" displayed itself in H.'s approach.

10. Why does Lewis think that grief is like fear? Describe the ways in which Lewis experiences fear.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Lewis mean in Chapter Two when he writes, "Heaven is a state where 'the former things have passed away'"? What has passed away? What is the "Heaven" to which Lewis refers? What prompts Lewis's reflections on his desires to have H. back? Cite any quotes used in the text.

Essay Topic 2

For the first two chapters, Lewis is immersed in emotions, in raw agony. In the third chapter, he takes a significant turn. As Lewis points his ability to reason toward his grief, he begins another stage in the process of his grieving.

1) What questions does Lewis ask about H.'s death and what it means for the whole of life? When Lewis writes about the "problem of the universe," what does he mean?

2) Describe the difference between what Lewis believed before H. died and what he questions after she dies. What is the main difference between the two conditions of belief? What is important about the difference for the possibility of a sane and rational life of faith?

3) Regarding faith, what Lewis believed prior to H.'s death has everything to do with his faith in God and in what he had been taught. How does Lewis think about his faith after H. died?

Essay Topic 3

Lewis begins to ponder H. and the possibility of her continuing existence. In the beginning of his reflections, Lewis discovers that H. has become inaccessible in different ways. Needless to say, this causes him great disturbance. Discuss what sets off Lewis's thoughts about H. and where or if she "is." What does Lewis discover is different in her case than was true for all others whom he had known who had died? What related issue does Lewis's trouble regarding H. introduce? This topic is one that runs through the book and is more central than Lewis's difficulties about H. What does Lewis finally determine is the distinction between the others who had died and H.?

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