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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. How did Mrs. Mitchell and her son treat their Black servants?
(a) Mrs. Mitchell and her son completely ignored their Black servants.
(b) Mrs. Mitchell and her son treated their black servants like slaves.
(c) Mrs. Mitchell and her son treated their Black servants just like family.
(d) Mrs. Mitchell and her son screamed at and berated their Black servants.

2. Which of the following books did Lessing use to illustrate the difference in transitioning from the consciousness of a child to that of an adult?
(a) Pride and Prejudice.
(b) The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
(c) Hamlet.
(d) Tristram Shandy.

3. Where was John McVeagh born?
(a) England.
(b) Portugal.
(c) Rhodesia.
(d) Persia.

4. What type of play did Lessing write while at the Convent?
(a) An English tragedy.
(b) An Aristophanean comedy.
(c) A Ciceronian tragedy.
(d) A one-act Shakespearean play.

5. How much capital did Lessing's father take to Southern Rhodesia?
(a) £ 10,000.
(b) £ 100.
(c) £ 2,500.
(d) £ 1,000.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many biographers were writing about Lessing at the time that she wrote the book?

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

3. Why did Lessing's father miss the Battle of the Somme?

4. What did Lessing's father think of his Persian business partners?

5. What did the doctor prescribe to alleviate Lessing's mother's ailment?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Lessing become an atheist?

3. In Chapter 6, what was Lessing's mother's primary concern about the children?

4. What did Lessing suspect was the root of her mother's illness?

5. Describe Lessing's father's medical condition in this chapter.

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

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

8. How did Lessing's mother explain the bout of illness that kept her confined to bed?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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