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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. What illness did Hesse suffer from in Bern?

2. What did Hesse win in 1946?

3. What happened to Hesse's work in Germany as a result of Hesse's protest over the alteration of his poem?

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

5. Who was Ninon Dolbin?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe "The Glass Bead Game."

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

3. What prizes did Hesse win in 1946?

4. How did Hesse react to the critic who attacked him in Germany?

5. Describe the novel "Siddhartha."

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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