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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Styron compare his psychiatrist to?
(a) The parish priest in "Madame Bovary."
(b) A quack.
(c) His wife.
(d) His friend, Gary.

2. What is Styron's first dream in many months?
(a) His wife leaving him.
(b) A demon, a fire, and his own death.
(c) A flock of Canadian geese.
(d) A flute, a wild goose, and a dancing girl.

3. For Styron, what do the black whirling stars of Van Gogh represent?
(a) The everlasting nature of man's soul.
(b) The beauty of the night sky.
(c) Precursors of his plunge into dementia and self-annihilation.
(d) The darkness of depression.

4. To what does Styron compare medical treatment for depression?
(a) To cancer treatment.
(b) To a child's early life.
(c) To the early evolution of dinosaurs.
(d) To fighting infection before the discovery of penicillin.

5. What does this music make him realize?
(a) That he couldn't leave all the pleasant memories that the house around him held.
(b) That he didn't want to life any more.
(c) That his suicide would hurt his wife too much.
(d) That music could restore his soul.

6. What happens to Styron's speech as he becomes more depressed?
(a) It slows to a halting rate.
(b) Nothing happens to his speech.
(c) He is unable to make certain sounds.
(d) It becomes very rapid.

7. How does Styron indicate he was planning to die?
(a) He revises his will and tries to write a goodbye letter.
(b) He dresses nicely for the person who will find him.
(c) He gathers a knife and some towels.
(d) He sends his wife away for a time so he would be alone.

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

9. According to Styron, what is a frequent theme in his novels?
(a) Suicide.
(b) Family support.
(c) Friendships.
(d) Death.

10. What three brand-name items does Styron use to destroy his diary?
(a) None, just throws it away in the garbage.
(b) Diamond matches, Kingsford Charcoal lighter, and Viva towels.
(c) Cheez-its box, 3M tape, and Brawny towels.
(d) Viva towels, Scotch tape, and Post Raisin Bran cereal box.

11. Styron names a number of writers, poets, and sculptors who have what common underlying theme in their work?
(a) Beauty.
(b) Depression.
(c) Love.
(d) Longevity.

12. What does Styron's psychiatrist do that sends him into a deep depression?
(a) Puts him in the hospital.
(b) Tells him to leave his wife if he wanted to get better.
(c) Tells him he would have to wait ten days before starting his new medicine, and then it would take 6-8 weeks to work.
(d) Tells him he was never going to recover.

13. What term does Styron give to the loss of a parent or something early in life?
(a) Incomplete mourning.
(b) Insurmountable loss.
(c) Dark depression.
(d) Lifelong loss.

14. What is Styron's diary a symbol of?
(a) His self-esteem and self-worth.
(b) His path through depression.
(c) His writing goals.
(d) His hopelessness in the face of depression.

15. According to Styron, what is the touchstone of depression?
(a) Loss.
(b) Support.
(c) Medicine.
(d) Suicide.

Short Answer Questions

1. From Job to Styron's day, he says artists and writers have been trying to do what?

2. Why does Styron say depression was no stranger when it came to him?

3. What famous poet does Styron name as an example of excellent works by a depressed person?

4. Though depression tends to recur, what advantage do sufferers of recurrence have?

5. What does Styron believe he needs to get well that can be provided by the hospital?

(see the answer keys)

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