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. What kind of food were the children fed at the convent that Lessing stayed in as a child?
(a) English peasant food.
(b) German peasant food.
(c) French peasant food.
(d) Traditional Rhodesian food.

2. Where did Lessing's family live before they found property?
(a) In Lilfordia.
(b) In Johannesburg.
(c) In Kent.
(d) In London.

3. Growing up, what was Lessing always told about the family's financial status?
(a) That the family was financially stable, but morally corrupt.
(b) That the family would be fine when her father settled in his new job.
(c) That the family was middle-class.
(d) That the family was poor.

4. In Chapter 4, what city did Lessing's mother insist on traveling through on the way back to England?
(a) Paris.
(b) Brussels.
(c) London.
(d) Moscow.

5. To which of the following religions did Lessing suddenly convert?
(a) Christianity.
(b) Anglicanism.
(c) Roman Catholicism.
(d) Judaism.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. In Chapter 3, which of the following does Lessing describe as her first memory?

4. How did Lessing rebel while aboard the ship?

5. What did Lessing's parents think of the Whiteheads when they first met them?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Lessing's parents plan to acquire land in Southern Rhodesia?

2. According to Lessing in Chapter 2, what is the role of truth in autobiographical writing?

3. How did Lessing become an atheist?

4. From the details Lessing provides in Chapter 1, describe the circumstances which led to Maude's broken heart.

5. Describe Lessing's outlook on the future of the world and human society.

6. Describe the circumstances that led to Alfred's depression.

7. In your opinion, why does Lessing trace her lineage in the opening chapter?

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

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

10. In Chapter 8, how did the girls at the school avoid exams?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 894 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample