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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. Who recommended that Lessing see a particular doctor for an abortion?

2. Who did Lessing work for at this point in her life?

3. How many eggs did Lessing attend to on the farm?

4. What did Lessing do most afternoons with the new baby?

5. What aspect of her childhood determined that Lessing would never separate herself from politics?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12, how does Lessing describe her first son, John?

2. Describe Lessing's relationship with Ivy.

3. Ultimately, why did Lessing think that she and Gottfried were mismatched?

4. Discuss Lessing's mini-vacation to Capetown.

5. How did Lessing describe Kurt in Chapter 16?

6. In Chapter 19, what does Lessing describe as the smartest decision that she ever made?

7. Why did Lessing direct her focus on the Communist ideas that she was developing in this chapter instead of focusing on the events of her life?

8. What did Lessing realize when she was diagnosed with Low Fever and sent to the mountains to recover?

9. Describe Lessing's entrance into love and romance as she describes it in Chapter 10.

10. Describe Lessing's reaction to the end of World War II.

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

Examine Lessing's position on social class and class structures. How did Lessing perceive class? What was her social class at birth? And, how did her family's social status affect her understanding of the term, class? What moments from the autobiography appear to have contributed to her notions of what class and class structure were? Considering events from her childhood and young adult years, what inspired Lessing to join the Communist Party of Southern Rhodesia?

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