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

Short Answer Questions

1. To which of the following religions did Lessing suddenly convert?

2. Why did Lessing not like the clothes that her mother had made for her?

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

4. Which of the following does Lessing blame for the distrust that 20th Century people have in their governments?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 3, what type of child abuse does Lessing describe?

2. What did Lessing do one night when she was forced to remain in the cabin while her parents attended a dance?

3. How did Lessing become an atheist?

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

5. Describe the English views of themselves and their relation to other people as Lessing portrays it in this chapter.

6. What advantage does Lessing that claim she has in writing her autobiography late in her life?

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

8. According to Lessing's memory, how did she learn to interact with people around her?

9. How does Lessing describe her childhood vulnerability?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

History plays a key role in forming the text of the autobiography. Examine the ways in which Lessing relied on, recounted, or challenged history in the text. How central was history in Lessing's understanding of her own life? How essential was Lessing's life in her understanding of history? Were those two elements inextricably linked? What did Lessing's autobiography contribute to your understanding of history, understanding of historical events, or the way in which history is recorded?

Essay Topic 2

Gender emerges in the autobiography as a determining factor in Lessing's life that influences her behavior and reception as a young woman within her community. Discuss the way in which Lessing portrayed the effect of gender roles on her growing identity. How did Lessing's mother model femininity? How did Lessing act out against or comply with that model of female behavior? How did she seem to define herself as a woman?

Essay Topic 3

During her young adult years, Lessing becomes affiliated with the Communist Party of Southern Rhodesia - at the time, considered a very political party for a young British woman to join. Discuss Lessing's initial feelings regarding the Communist Party, as well as the changes that occurred to that opinion during the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. What was Lessing's political stance at the time of her autobiography? How does she comment on the ideals and implementation of Socialism or Communism? How would instituting a Communist government in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) have been different than instituting a Communist government in Europe?

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