View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Clarissa urge Richard to do?

2. What is perverse about Richard's good fortune?

3. For how long does Clarissa wait in the hope of seeing the famous film star?

4. How early are Vanessa and the children for their expected visit?

5. What does Laura tell Richie she will do today?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Dan returned from the war, why was he given special acclaim?

2. Why is Clarissa hurt about Sally going out to lunch with Oliver St. Ives?

3. How does Laura plan to compensate for her neglect of Dan and Richie at breakfast?

4. How pervasive are the voices Virginia hears?

5. Comment on an aspect of the Prologue's final paragraph.

6. What fascinates Laura about Virginia Woolf's death?

7. What is the significance of the literary prize that Richard has been awarded?

8. When Clarissa thinks of Richard's illness, what makes her resentful?

9. Why is Richard's nickname for Clarissa ('Mrs Dalloway') an appropriate choice?

10. What does Willie Bass think of Clarissa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

'Freedom is a concept, but not an experience.' How might this be applied to the characters in Michael Cunningham's The Hours?

Essay Topic 2

Birds and flowers are significant symbols in The Hours. Discuss the way these and one other symbol of your choice are used in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Much of the novel, The Hours, deals with characters' views of themselves and their fears concerning failure. Are these people actually successful, and in which ways or spheres of endeavor?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,038 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample