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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 activity did Lessing both love and hate?
(a) Knitting.
(b) Walking John in the pram.
(c) Tea parties.
(d) Nursing John.

2. Who is the hero of Fathers and Sons, the book Lessing cites in this chapter?
(a) Turgenev.
(b) Bazarov.
(c) Karamazov.
(d) Borislov.

3. What was waiting for Lessing's last son in his crib before he was born?
(a) A teddy bear.
(b) A quilt.
(c) A pacifier.
(d) A mobile.

4. How did Lessing feel about World War II at that time?
(a) She felt that it was a good war.
(b) She felt that it was an abomination.
(c) She felt that it was a catastrophic mistake.
(d) She felt that it was a necessary war.

5. In Chapter 9, which year does Lessing describe as a "make or break" year in her life?
(a) Her 17th year.
(b) Her 14th year.
(c) Her 16th year.
(d) Her 12th year.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Lessing describe their sex life?

2. What did Lessing do while she spent her days with John?

3. Why did Kurt and Esther refuse to attend meetings?

4. Which of the following was NOT one of the things that Lessing and Frank had in common?

5. What had Lessing become after attending meetings with Dorothy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Lessing believe to be the true cause of her father's death?

2. Describe Lessing's relationship with Ivy.

3. How did Lessing respond to increasing unhappiness with her marital and home situation?

4. In Chapter 13, how did Lessing rationalize her decision to leave Frank and their two children?

5. Describe Lessing's activities in Capetown in Chapter 17.

6. Describe Lessing's decision to marry Frank Wisdom.

7. Describe Lessing's reaction to the end of World War II.

8. In Chapter 19, what does Lessing describe as the smartest decision that she ever made?

9. When John was 9 months old, what did Lessing and Frank decide to do?

10. How did Lessing describe Kurt in Chapter 16?

(see the answer keys)

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