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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Styron's body feel in the beginning of his depression?
(a) Numb, frail, disjointed, and clumsy.
(b) Heavy, lethargic, awkward, and bloated.
(c) Energetic, strong, capable, and lively.
(d) Manic, hyper, shaky, and strange.

2. Though Styron feels alone, who is always with him?
(a) His psychiatrist.
(b) His friend, Gary.
(c) His children.
(d) His wife, Rose.

3. According to Styron, what often leads depressed people to commit suicide?
(a) Because they don't love their families like other people do.
(b) Because of moral weakness and lack of character.
(c) Because depression is so deep they can't see any other way out.
(d) Because they don't have a very strong will to live.

4. In the depth of his depression in Paris, what does Styron realize he would have to decide?
(a) What doctor to see about it.
(b) Whether to tell his wife or not.
(c) The philosophical question of whether life is worth living or not.
(d) Whether to admit it to the press or not.

5. What quote from Baudelaire does Styron use to explain his feelings?
(a) "Man's madness is his downfall."
(b) "Madness is but a figment of the imagination."
(c) "Madness breeds madness."
(d) "I have felt the wind of the wing of madness."

Short Answer Questions

1. Styron calls depression:

2. What does the suicide of another of Styron's friends lead him to believe?

3. According to Styron, who wrote about depression and seemed to really understand it?

4. What philosophical question does Gary present as central to all philosophy; a question that confuses Styron until years later when he suffers his depression?

5. What puzzles Styron about Camus's book, "The Fall"?

(see the answer key)

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