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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. With whom did Hesse break because of politics?

2. Whom did Hesse fall afoul of by protesting the alteration of his poem?

3. Hesse ultimately died of _____________.

4. How did Hesse's German audience change during the war?

5. Who was Ruth Wenger?

Short Essay Questions

1. What strains was Hesse feeling after he wrote "Siddhartha"?

2. Describe the progress of Hesse's relationship with Ninon Dolbin.

3. Describe the impact of the Great War on Hesse.

4. How was Hesse supporting himself and his family?

5. Describe the period when Hesse's marriage began to crumble.

6. What was Hesse's experience with psychoanalysis?

7. Who was Ruth Wenger?

8. Describe the novel "Rosshalde."

9. What prizes did Hesse win in 1946?

10. What does Freedman say Hesse represented with "Steppenwolf"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role did rebellion play in Hesse's life and development as a writer? How important was his brother's running away to music school? What fights did he fight by rebelling, and what fights did he avoid by running away? To what was he opposed? To what was he drawn? How did he learn to use fight or flight as strategies for getting what he wanted? How did these strategies change as he matured?

Essay Topic 2

Which of Hesse's books is most important in his life? Why is it the book that had the greatest effect on Hesse as a man and as a writer?

Essay Topic 3

How has Hesse been received, and how has his popularity waxed and waned over time, and in different countries? What parts of his work have been responsible for his popularity? What parts for his unpopularity? What aspect of of movements in Western culture made Hesse's work attractive and popular? What did people see in his work?

(see the answer keys)

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