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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. Freedman said that the tensions in Hesse's works came from ________________.

2. Why did Hesse change jobs for less money around 1901?

3. Why did Hesse travel to the spa at Badenweiler?

4. Why was Hesse rejected from military service?

5. When did Hesse begin to publish his poems?

Short Essay Questions

1. How big was Hesse's family?

2. What was Hesse's early childhood like?

3. When did Hesse begin to write?

4. Describe the importance of spas and cures in Hesse's life.

5. Who were Hesse's parents? How did they meet?

6. Describe Hesse's schooling.

7. With what nationality did Hesse identify?

8. Where did Hesse meet his first wife?

9. What did Hesse get from his trip to India in 1911?

10. Describe Hesse's apprenticeship.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What did the decision to be a writer mean for Hesse as a young man, and how did the identity of the 'writer' clarify his role and responsibilities? How did he see his job as a "writer"? What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to avoid? Pay particular attention to his relationships with his family and their expectations for his career.

Essay Topic 2

How important was Hesse's health, in his career as a writer and in his personal development? What did his health force him to accept? What did Hesse learn from fighting his maladies? How did his health and his struggles with his health show up in his work?

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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