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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. In what role did "Siddhartha" put Hesse?

2. Where did Hesse spend New Years in 1926?

3. What gave Hesse difficulties as he got older?

4. How was "Narcissus and Goldmund" received?

5. What did Hesse win in 1946?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Hesse's run-in with the Stuttgart paper that misprinted his poem.

2. How did Hesse react to the end of the war in Europe?

3. Describe the novel "Siddhartha."

4. Describe Hesse's travels in 1924 and 1925.

5. Describe "Piktor's Metamorphosis" and Hesse's later writing.

6. How does Freedman say that Hesse's writing and his life paralleled each other?

7. What effect did the deteriorating state of things in Germany have on Hesse?

8. Describe the novel "Rosshalde."

9. Describe Hesse's travels in 1928-1929.

10. In what ways was "Steppenwolf" stylistically new for Hesse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Describe Hesse's relationship with women. What differences are there between the women in Hesse's writing and the women in Hesse's life? What did he demand from women, and how did he handle disappointment? What commitments would he make to women, and what would he do to protect his freedom? What was he protecting in himself? What parts of his wives was he protecting himself against?

(see the answer keys)

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