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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which recent development does Viorst think is a positive new step toward good death?
(a) Increased suicides of cancer patients.
(b) The hospice movement.
(c) Doctor assisted death.
(d) Hospital good-byes.

2. Which three fictional characters discussed in the book does Viorst specifically mention in Chapter 20?
(a) Hamlet, Oedipus, Owen Meany
(b) Emma Bovary, Alex Portnoy, Ivan Ilych
(c) Margaret, Alex Portnoy, King Lear
(d) Holden Caulfield, Hamlet, Marlow

3. Men pursue ______________; women yearn for _______________.
(a) Excitement; safety.
(b) Deep relationships; one night stands.
(c) Autonomy; intimacy.
(d) Sex; cuddling.

4. As our parents grow old, get sick, and die, we learn to do what in relation to imperfect connections?
(a) Stop complaining about them.
(b) Ignore them and continue on our own path.
(c) Work them out.
(d) Give thanks.

5. The earliest text on the subject of aging came from where?
(a) China.
(b) Greece.
(c) Iraq.
(d) Egypt.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the names of Viorst's three sons?

2. In Chapter 16, Viorst quotes which psychologist who wrote the book Loss?

3. According to Chapter 14, parents suffer from the one of the following in a similar fashion to children.

4. The following headline ran in what paper? "HER OUTSIDE PREOCCUPATION CAN LEAVE HIM ISOLATED AT TIME OF MORE LEISURE"

5. Viorst quotes this book, written by Kathrin Perutz, in Chapter 13.

Short Essay Questions

1. What can happen as a result of a mother's fear that her child's psyche is fragile? How can this affect the child?

2. What are a few of the difficulties of a marriage relationship mentioned in Chapter 13?

3. Other than a parent, what other things impact who a child becomes?

4. What does it mean if a child and mother aren't a good fit?

5. How does baggage from childhood put pressure on a marriage?

6. According to Freud, is it unusual to have sexual feelings toward friends? How does this impact our friendships with the opposite sex?

7. What types of unexpected emotions can we feel towards friends? How do they impact our friendships?

8. Name two of the stages of mourning that Viorst describes in Chapter 16.

9. In thinking about losses as a lifelong theme, name some of the juxtapositions that Viorst discusses in Chapter 20.

10. What is the fundamental tension in all man-woman marriages?

(see the answer keys)

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