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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 long did "low-hung grey skies" hang over the author?

2. What does it mean if there is a good God, according to the author?

3. To what length would the author have gone if it could have cured H.'s cancer?

4. What one thing has sufficient force to rattle one's faith, according to the author in Chapter Three?

5. In Chapter Four, what does the author decide loving H. is like?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the beginning of Chapter Three, when does Lewis acknowledge that he does not think about H.? What is life like when Lewis is not thinking about H.?

2. What question does Lewis ask to begin to reason his way through his pain? How does this question lead Lewis onto new ground?

3. What are Lewis's reflections about images in the fourth chapter?

4. What does Lewis want when it comes to reality vs. ideas about reality?

5. What signs are there that Lewis is beginning to come out of his depression?

6. For Lewis, why is a good God as formidable as God, the Cosmic Sadist? Describe the differences between the two ideas.

7. What feelings follow from Lewis's experiences when he is not thinking about H.? How is his feeling related to his grief?

8. What does Lewis mean when he writes that he can believe that God is a vet? Conversely, how is it difficult for Lewis to think of God as a vet?

9. At nearly the end of the book, what kind of answer does Lewis receive from God? Briefly, explain what the answer means.

10. What human conditions does Lewis admit that he can never fully examine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lewis reflects that people other than his children are having trouble coping with Lewis's grief. He describes various instances and impressions that leave him with distinct opinions about those who grieve.

1) Whom does Lewis encounter that he believes have uncomfortable responses to his obvious agony? Provide general as well as specific examples.

2) How do the people about whom Lewis writes respond to him? Be specific, detailing who and how they respond.

3) What does Lewis conclude about people who are grieving and their place in society?

Essay Topic 2

Lewis begins his reflections in the midst of great pain. His wife, H., has died. Describe three examples of Lewis's pain, as he describes it throughout the book.

Essay Topic 3

After a long period of feeling left outside a locked door, of feeling that God was unresponsive, Lewis begins to sense God's presence on the other side of the door and that the door is unlocked.

1) Discuss the idea behind the biblical promise cited by Lewis, "Knock and the door shall be opened." What does that mean for Lewis and his interaction with God? What does Lewis ask that the phrase might mean?

2) Discuss the other quote to which Lewis refers in Chapter Three, "To him that hath shall be given." What does that phrase mean to Lewis?

3) What, if any, value do either or both of these quotes have for those who grieve?

(see the answer keys)

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