View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Styron not able to recover?
(a) His fame.
(b) His lucidity.
(c) His family.
(d) His friendships.

2. Why would Jarrell's widow not want to admit he committed suicide?
(a) Because of the stigma of suicide.
(b) She didn't believe he committed suicide.
(c) She was cheating on him.
(d) Because she couldn't collect his life insurance.

3. Though Styron feels alone, who is always with him?
(a) His psychiatrist.
(b) His friend, Gary.
(c) His wife, Rose.
(d) His children.

4. When is depression at its worst?
(a) Painful sorrow.
(b) Fake feelings of sadness.
(c) A blue state.
(d) Madness.

5. Which group of people does depression never happen to?
(a) None are excluded; it attacks all groups.
(b) Mothers who enjoy their role.
(c) Older people who have gotten a grasp on life.
(d) People younger than their teens.

Short Answer Questions

1. What quote from Baudelaire does Styron use to explain his feelings?

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

3. According to Styron, what do people closest to those who commit suicide often do?

4. Styron calls depression:

5. What is the term Styron uses to better describe what is happening to a person with depression?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Styron say was so harmful that doctors were prone to do for depressed people and why?

2. What advice did Styron give for the person suffering from depression?

3. What happened to Styron and his drinking habits and how did that affect him?

4. Why did Styron say it was so hard for family members to accept a person's suicide, and what did they usually do about it?

5. For the most part, the people Styron list as suffering from depression are artistic types or philosophers. Discuss why this may be so?

6. How did Dr. Gold's approach compare to the way the parish priest approached Emma in "Madame Bovary"?

7. What did Styron say caused the incipient insomnia that depressed people often experienced?

8. Styron gave little credence to his outpatient therapy, but said what about the 50 minutes involved?

9. What happened to Styron's first work and what was its title?

10. What effect did watching the flight of a flock of Canadian geese have on Styron?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 988 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample