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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. What "ceremony" does Bernard dislike so much?

2. Who refers to "sudden kisses" as a "crudity"?

3. What image is Susan reminded of at the end of her monologue in Section 3?

4. Who is the first of the female speakers in Section 3?

5. What is Bernard doing at the beginning of Section 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. Overall, what should the reader take away as most significant from Section 1?

2. Describe the differences in Jinny and Rhoda's experience's while at school in Section 2.

3. Describe the fears, or the lack of fears, that the characters articulate in Section 3.

4. Describe the way Section 3's introduction, the italicized vignette, fits in with the rest of Section 3 as a whole.

5. Describe the attitude of the characters towards each other prior to Percival's arrival in Section 4.

6. What is significant about the way Section 2 is introduced?

7. What is the major event that occurs in Section 4, and why is it significant?

8. What is significant about displaying the children in school in the novel's first section?

9. How does the group act differently when Percival arrives in Section 4?

10. Which of the boys seems to have the strongest attachment to Percival? Please provide some evidence in your answer.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of Woolf choosing the passage of a single day as a metaphor for the passage of a group of lives from childhood to old age and even death? What about the metaphor is apt, and what does not seem proper? Why does Woolf include such a vast variety of images that do not always play into the central meaning of the text? What is the importance of the italicization of these passages? Elaborate as much as you can.

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the success or failure of Woolf's writing style in this novel. The use of intertwining monologues is clearly the most significant decision Woolf made when preparing to write this text, but it is now your turn to critique whether or not the style is effective. If the characters are always speaking, why doesn't Woolf compose a play? Why do some characters have their monologues featured, while other monologues are easy to glaze over while reading? Does Woolf succeed in creating a cohesive consciousness out of these six voices? If so, where do you find it at its most effective in the text, and if not, then what does Woolf succeed in creating with this stylistic method?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay which compares and contrasts any two of the sections' introductory vignettes. Pick one vignette which is typical of the whole novel, and one which is atypical (there are two in particular). What separates these vignettes? Include as many reasons as you can think of as to why Woolf would change her method at such a point in the text.

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