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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. Where did Hesse commence his studies?

2. When did Hesse begin to publish his poems?

3. What novel was Hesse finishing when he returned to work after his mother's death?

4. Where did Hesse take work after Tubingen?

5. Where did Hesse meet Herr Bernoulli?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Hesse's marriage with Maria.

2. Describe Hesse's move to Basel.

3. With what nationality did Hesse identify?

4. Describe Hesse's schooling.

5. What circles did Hesse enter in Tubingen?

6. When did Hesse begin to be successful as a writer?

7. What is Freedman's stance with regard to the relationship between Hesse's life and works?

8. How does Freedman describe Hesse's childhood?

9. Why was 1902 an important year for Hesse?

10. What does Freedman say about artists' lives, at the beginning of the prologue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Hesse's experience as a husband. What trajectory can you draw through his three marriages? What did his marriages teach him? What patterns are common in all three marriages? What did Hesse refuse to learn from any of his marriages? If you were speaking for his wives, what would you try to get Hesse to understand about himself as a husband?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the importance of other writers and artists in Hesse's life and in his development as a writer. What role did the circle of writers in Tubingen play for him? What did he get from their company? What did he give to that circle? What connections did he make? How did Hesse play the role of "writer" differently with his writer friends than he played the role with his family?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Hesse's life as a reader. Which authors drew him? Which authors did he return to again and again? What did his favorite books do for him? From whom did Hesse learn to write? Which authors did he write his books to? Whose influences did he struggle to elude? Whose influences did he fail to escape from?

(see the answer keys)

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