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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 type of business was Wilhelm Dinesen involved?

2. What did Dinesen choose to do to relieve stress and anxiety?

3. Dinesen became interested in Georg Brandes and ______________________.

4. Which war further strained Dinesen's relations with the aristocratic landowners in Africa?

5. Who proposed marriage to Dinesen?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Dinesen's father, Wilhelm, live his life and why did he commit suicide at the age of 50?

2. What was the nature of the conflict between Dinesen and her Aunt Bess?

3. What was Dinesen's family's reaction to her interest in Georg Brandes and Fredrick Nietzsche?

4. Why was becoming an adult not what Dinesen expected in terms of her life's direction?

5. What decision did Dinesen make to end her period of indecisiveness?

6. Who was Daisy Frijs and why was Dinesen drawn to her?

7. How could Dinesen's marriage to Bror best be described?

8. How did Dinesen's childhood influence her writing, and what important theme would emerge?

9. How has Dinesen's biography been compared to a novel?

10. When and where was Isak Dinesen born and by what other names was she known?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the role of Dinesen's family in her life. What impact did Dinesen's father have on her life? What was Dinesen's relationship with her siblings? How did the family evolve in its support of each other? What was the nature of Dinesen's strained relationship with her brother, Thomas?

Essay Topic 2

Who was Thorkild Bjornvig and what role did he play in Isak Dinesen's life? Why was Bjornvig so important to Dinesen? Why did the relationship between the two end so disastrously?

Essay Topic 3

The author points out more than one iteration on the theme of disappointment. Identify at least two examples which either embody or create disappointment then cite an example to support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample