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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. Viorst feels that in adulthood we may seek out the wanted parent in an effort to do what?

2. According to Chapter 9, how do we eventually resolve the Oedipus complex?

3. How does the author feel we can move past re-creating what has already happened?

4. When we allow some person or group to stand in place of our own conscience, this leads to what?

5. Even as adults, according to the author, we still view our mothers as what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Freud name it the Oedipus complex?

2. According to psychoanalyst Margaret Mahler, what is our "psychological birth" ?

3. Despite a constant desire for independence, why do young children keep coming back to their mothers?

4. What does our superego have to do with resolving the Oedipus complex?

5. Excessive punishment of ourselves rests on the illusion of what?

6. What happens when we do not behave in accordance with our conscience?

7. According to Freud, what is the age of latency?

8. Why does J.D. Salinger's character from The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, not want to grow up?

9. According to Chapter 9, what kind of person lacks guilt?

10. Why did Art Buchwald, journalist and friend of the author, say that he understands about "scars on the brain"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 11 details the positive and negative aspects of our dreams and fantasies. Compare and contrast fantasy versus reality using ideas from the book. How are they similar? How are they different? Do they serve the same purpose?

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 15 talks about the "corporate characteristic" of families, specifically mentioning the Bachs and the Kennedys. Explore this idea of family identity and myths. Using support from the book, in what ways is it helpful for families? In what ways could it be problematic? Consider your own experience and whether your family or friends' families have a "corporate characteristic."

Essay Topic 3

What important steps in human development take place at middle age? Discuss how we continue to define who we are through this process.

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