View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 8.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does his diary represent his mental state?
(a) It was a treatise on mental illness.
(b) That when he wanted to destroy it, he was close to his own death.
(c) It contained all his thoughts and feelings.
(d) It corresponded to his moods as he wrote about them.

2. What happens to Gary's ex-wife?
(a) She disappeared and was never found again.
(b) She was killed by someone, probably Gary himself.
(c) She took an overdose of pills and her body was found in a car after several days.
(d) She shot herself.

3. What happens to Styron's writing as he descends into depression?
(a) His writing doesn't make sense.
(b) He gets published much easier.
(c) It eventually becomes non-existent.
(d) He begins to write much faster and more productively.

4. What piece of music moves Styron to his breakthrough and hospitalization?
(a) Beethoven's Fifth.
(b) Chopin's Funeral March.
(c) Brahms's Alto Rhapsody.
(d) Halleluah Chorus.

5. According to Styron, who wrote about depression and seemed to really understand it?
(a) Chaucer.
(b) Gary.
(c) Camus.
(d) Dante.

Short Answer Questions

1. During one sleepless episode, what does Styron realize about his illness?

2. What is the hardest piece of writing Styron attempted during his depression?

3. What clues does Gary reveal that Styron later learns was probably signs of deep depression?

4. What three brand-name items does Styron use to destroy his diary?

5. What does Styron lose at the luncheon in Paris?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 326 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample