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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. To what does the novel "Narcissus and Goldmund" appeal, in Freedman's account?

2. What happened when Hesse began to try to paint his dreams?

3. What caused stress and illness for Hesse?

4. Why did Hesse's work on "The Glass Bead Game" stop in 1933?

5. Where did Hesse spend New Years in 1926?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Hesse's marriage to Ruth progress?

2. What prizes did Hesse win in 1946?

3. What physical problems was Hesse having at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s?

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

5. Who was Ruth Wenger?

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

7. Describe the novel "Rosshalde."

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

9. How was Hesse supporting himself and his family?

10. What did Hesse portray in 'Narcissus and Goldmund'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Hesse's relationship with his parents and family. Why didn't they get along? What traits of Hesse's strained their relationship, even from his childhood? What traits of his parents contributed to a strained relationship? How did Hesse's works, marriages, and decisions change the nature of that relationship over time?

Essay Topic 2

Hesse experienced periods of depression from time to time throughout his life. What was he depressed about? What did he learn to do to fight his depression? What did he learn from examining the causes of his depression? What was his experience of psychoanalysis like?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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