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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to Styron during his museum visit in Paris?
(a) He complains to his wife about the museum the whole time.
(b) He runs out and leaves the group he was with.
(c) He finds inspiration for another book.
(d) He begins to feel the late evening lethargy that always descends.

2. Where did Styron meet Hoffman?
(a) He had never really met him, only talked to him.
(b) At a writer's conference.
(c) At a democratic convention.
(d) At the del Duco award dinner.

3. What does Styron realize in Paris that helps him understand what is happening to him?
(a) He begins to cry incessantly and realizes he is depressed.
(b) He can't talk to his wife any more.
(c) The circadian cycle gives him moments of brief respite from the deep depression, giving clarity of thought.
(d) He can't think clearly anymore.

4. What does Styron say about assigning reasons for suicide to those who take that route?
(a) That people who commit suicide are justified in doing it.
(b) That people who commit suicide don't love their families.
(c) That only weak people commit suicide.
(d) Most of the time the cause is not one incident, but overwhelming depression.

5. What is the old term for depression?
(a) Melancholia.
(b) Manic depressive.
(c) Mental deficit.
(d) Mania.

Short Answer Questions

1. What drugs does Styron's doctor give him that are NOT recommended for people with depression?

2. When is depression at its worst?

3. Though Styron feels alone, who is always with him?

4. After Primo Levi's suicide, what causes Styron to question the common view that those who commit suicide are weak and inept?

5. What bothers Styron so much about not being able to meet Camus?

(see the answer key)

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