View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Hesse describe his conflicted feelings in his writing?

2. What began to replace Hesse's work after "Siddhartha"?

3. What did Hesse do to contribute to the war effort?

4. How does Freedman describe Hesse's lifestyle after leaving Bern?

5. What caused stress and illness for Hesse?

Short Essay Questions

1. What prizes did Hesse win in 1946?

2. Describe the novel "Siddhartha."

3. What did the Hesses celebrate at the end of 1945?

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

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

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

7. Describe Hesse's last years and death.

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

9. Who was Ruth Wenger?

10. What was Hesse's experience with psychoanalysis?

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

Hesse's parents were Pietist missionaries. What was Pietism, and what role did it play in Hesse's development as a person and as a writer? What values did he get from Pietism? What values did he get by rebelling against it? Is Hesse a Pietist writer?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 695 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample