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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 two feelings battle each other at every stage of development?

2. What is one of the necessary losses discussed in Chapter 3?

3. Sibling rivalry tends to do what as we get older?

4. While in the hospital, a little boy who was set on fire by his mother is crying for whom?

5. According to Chapter 11, what is built of imperfect connections?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe the difference between infantile love, immature love, and mature love.

2. What support does Viorst give to the Cinderella Complex?

3. Who first discovered the Oedipus complex? How did he/she describe it?

4. Why does sibling rivalry tend to diminish with age?

5. Why are we afraid of fantasies that portray socially unacceptable behavior?

6. Using an example from the book, describe ways in which the Oedipus complex can play out in the lives of adults.

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

8. Describe repetition compulsion and what we may be trying to accomplish through it.

9. Describe the four stages of standing alone.

10. Why were Hansel and Gretel so close to each other relationally?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 14 discusses the theory that parents will do anything to protect their children and try to give them a better life than they themselves had. Discuss the various ways in which mothers, especially, try to make their children better people than themselves. Use examples from the book for support.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the different times of life that are covered in the book. What is similar about them? What is different? What are some life lessons you can take away that may help you navigate the developmental stages you have yet to experience?

Essay Topic 3

Using support from the book, explore the poem by Maxine Kumin entitled, "After Love." How does this poem support the author's stance that we all seek a substitute for the loss of oneness with our mother through other means? How does a moment like the one the poet describes fulfill our need, though temporarily, to feel oneness again?

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