View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As a whole, Lessing considered writers to be ______________.
(a) A plague.
(b) A bad influence.
(c) An organism.
(d) A wasted profession.

2. During Lessing's time in Rhodesia, how many people were in the political party she briefly joined?
(a) 40.
(b) 200.
(c) 300.
(d) 5.

3. According to Lessing, war causes humans to ____________.
(a) Grow as a society.
(b) Develop strong moral fiber.
(c) Revert to a brutal past.
(d) Make money.

4. Lessing found the tree cutting to be symbolic of ____________.
(a) "Awful primitivism."
(b) "Typical behavior."
(c) "Fanatical religion."
(d) "Human evolution."

5. Lessing mentions a tree that was cut down in what country?
(a) Belgium.
(b) France.
(c) China.
(d) Spain.

Short Answer Questions

1. Lessing believed it common for people to embrace ________.

2. Lessing referred to the sciences regarding human behavior as what type of science?

3. Lessing was shocked to learn that her friend, a born again Christian, rejected ______________.

4. What does the political Left believe in, according to Lessing?

5. Why did a member of the striking mine workers go back to work during the strike?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Lessing join a communist group in Rhodesia?

2. Why was Lessing discouraged by the application of behavioral data uncovered through the "soft sciences"?

3. Why did Lessing believe the tendency to buy into vilification was a form of popular lunacy?

4. Why did Lessing believe sub-groups with opposing positions were dangerous?

5. What was the political climate in Lessing's country when she was growing up?

6. What was the purpose of cutting down a tree associated with a traitor? Why did Lessing find it ridiculous?

7. Why was Lessing not surprised by the story of the attack on the British miner who was beaten by his friends?

8. What is remarkable about the fact that the blacks were treated as second class citizens in Rhodesia?

9. What was Lessing's opinion regarding war as a basis of our mentality?

10. How did the ruling class in Rhodesia get others to go along with their beliefs?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 635 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample