View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following historic examples does Lessing use to support her claims about human nature?

2. Where did Lessing's family live before they found property?

3. Which of the following song for children made Lessing's mother cry?

4. In Chapter 2, what is one thing that Lessing says the writer must have in order to begin to write about his/her life?

5. Which of the following killed one of the chickens and took off with a couple of eggs?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 4, what prompted the Tayler family to move to Africa?

2. How does Lessing describe her childhood vulnerability?

3. After tracing the history of her parents' lives, what does Lessing ponder?

4. While their mother was bedridden, what did Lessing and her brother do?

5. What sensation predominated Lessing's childhood?

6. Why did Lessing's parents have all their teeth removed before leaving for Africa?

7. In Chapter 7, what did Lessing and her brother do in the bush?

8. Quoting a recent historian, to what major event does Lessing attribute current feelings of mistrust toward the government?

9. How did Lessing become an atheist?

10. What essential skill did Lessing learn in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Lessing recounted the details of her young adult life, she commented on the institution of marriage through a discussion of her three unsuccessful unions. Examine Lessing's position on marriage and divorce in the text. Was her notion of marriage and divorce congruent with the notion of marriage and/or divorce at that time? If not, how did her opinion vary? What were her messages regarding marriage and divorce customs in the British Empire at that time?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the way in which Lessing discussed children and childhood in her autobiography. Children appeared throughout the work, as Lessing explored her own childhood, as well as the children who she had with her various partners. How did she present childhood in the text? How did Lessing feel that children should be treated? How did she treat them in her portrayal of them? How did having children affect Lessing's life?

Essay Topic 3

World Wars I and II played a significant role in Lessing's autobiography. Analyze the way in which she grappled with the Wars as historical events; and the repercussions that Europe and the rest of the world faced as a result of those conflicts. How did Lessing portray those effects in the autobiography? How did the Wars differ from other conflicts before them? What was Lessing's opinion regarding those Wars in particular; and the practice of war in general? What reasons did she give for her views on war?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 889 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample