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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Whom was Hesse with on his fiftieth birthday?
(a) Maria and his children.
(b) Elsie Bodmer.
(c) Ruth.
(d) Ninon and his friend Hugo Ball.

2. Where did Hesse describe his experience with depression and what he did to overcome it?
(a) In essays.
(b) In "Steppenwolf."
(c) In his letters to Maria.
(d) In his book reviews.

3. How does Freedman explain Hesse's interest in Asian culture?
(a) He says that it changed the topic from Hesse's failing marriage.
(b) He says it renewed Hesse's faith in humanity.
(c) He says it assuaged Hesse's depression.
(d) He says it connected Hesse with his dead parents.

4. What illness did Hesse suffer from in Bern?
(a) Insomnia.
(b) Panic attacks.
(c) Depression.
(d) Scarlet fever.

5. When did Hesse finish writing "Steppenwolf"?
(a) Early 1926.
(b) Late 1927.
(c) Late 1926.
(d) Early 1927.

6. When did Hesse marry Ninon?
(a) 1936.
(b) 1930.
(c) 1931.
(d) 1933.

7. What did Hesse's followers say about his writing after "Steppenwolf"?
(a) He had withdrawn from mass culture.
(b) He was tormented by the conflicts inside himself.
(c) He surrendered to mass culture.
(d) He was swayed by religion.

8. Where was Hesse's poem "On Toward Peace" published in altered form?
(a) Basel.
(b) Munich.
(c) Stuttgart.
(d) Geneva.

9. How was "Narcissus and Goldmund" received?
(a) With critical silence.
(b) Well.
(c) With mixed reviews.
(d) Poorly.

10. In what role did "Siddhartha" put Hesse?
(a) Prophet.
(b) Rebel leader.
(c) Spiritual leader of the youth.
(d) Martyr.

11. What was it about Ninon that made Hesse irritable?
(a) Her ideas.
(b) Her taste.
(c) Her absence.
(d) Her whims.

12. Who was Hesse lecturing on while he was writing "Siddhartha"?
(a) Emerson.
(b) Tolstoy.
(c) Carlyle.
(d) Dostoevsky.

13. How was "Siddhartha" received?
(a) Critics lionized it.
(b) Critics lambasted it.
(c) Readers rejected it.
(d) It was accepted, and its following grew over the years.

14. How does Freedman describe Hesse's lifestyle after leaving Bern?
(a) Monastic but productive.
(b) Liberated and debased.
(c) Aimless and uncomfortable.
(d) Sensational and insincere.

15. With whom did Hesse break because of politics?
(a) Hugo Ball.
(b) Ludwig Finckh.
(c) Carlo Hamelehle.
(d) Samuel Fischer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What represents the psyche in "The Glass Bead Game"?

2. What does "Narcissus and Goldmund" portray, according to Freedman?

3. What was Hesse working on in the summer of 1930?

4. Which side did Hesse favor in WW I?

5. What was the subject of Hesse's book "Rosshalde"?

(see the answer keys)

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