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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. What does Gary reveal to Styron about the effect the death of his ex-wife had on him?

2. What does Styron think of these two people, who were close literary friends?

3. How does Styron's body feel in the beginning of his depression?

4. What reaction to the op-ed piece causes Styron to decide to write this memoir?

5. What puzzles Styron about Camus's book, "The Fall"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Styron refuse to go to a luncheon with Simone del Duca, even though he had made an appointment to do so?

2. What did Styron say about the impression his intense thoughts of suicide would have on others?

3. What about the hospital was conducive to Styron's rapid recovery after months of intense suffering?

4. How did Styron describe the internal struggle with depression? What was causing this internal struggle, beside just the depression?

5. What reasons might be given for Styron not having been hospitalized earlier?

6. What is the relationship between artistic temperaments and suicide and what was Styron's appeal in relationship to it?

7. Why was depression such a hard thing for Styron in 1985?

8. What are some of the ways Styron indicated he had thought of as a means to commit his own suicide?

9. Discuss the death of the poet, Randall Jarrell, who was a friend of Styron's. Was his death a suicide or accident, according to the coroner? What did Styron suspect, and why?

10. Why were the new medicines becoming available in the 1980's and Dr. Gold's approach to them indicative of how depression was viewed and treated during that time? Why was it not sufficient?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how Styron's depression and the influence of the writings of his friends impacted his writing. Discuss the influences can we see of not only his own depression, but the writings of Camus on Styron's work.

Essay Topic 2

Critics have indicated that Styron left much of his personal journey out of the book. As a memoir of madness, we might expect, and deserve, to read more of Styron's journey through madness. Yet, he didn't include it. Why might this be? Would the book have been better or worse if more detail of the struggle had been included? Do you think leaving out the information was by plan or by accident? Why?

Essay Topic 3

A "touchstone text" is a text that can be used to illustrate examples of components of a type of writing style. "Darkness Visible" could be used as a touchstone text for memoir writing. Some of the components of memoir writing are: 1) focus and reflection on the relationship between the writer and a particular topic; 2) explanation of the significance of the relationship; 3) provides one impression of the subject of the memoir; 4) is limited to a particular phase, time period, place, or recurring behavior in order to develop the focus fully; 5) makes the subject of the memoir come alive; and, 6) maintains a first person point of view. Discuss and give examples from "Darkness Visible" to indicate if Styron is successful with each of the six points.

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