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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 two emotions seem to dominate Rhoda's Section 7 monologue?

2. In Section 5, Neville struggles to accomplish what simple act?

3. In Section 6, who does Susan deride towards the end of her monologue?

4. When Neville hears the significant news in Section 5, to what does he compare it?

5. In the beginning of Section 5, what state does Woolf describe the sun as being in?

Short Essay Questions

1. Characterize the way Bernard appears in Section 5.

2. How does the structure of Section 5 parallel the development of the characters?

3. Describe the way Louis is characterized in Section 7.

4. In Section 6, we encounter the three character who were omitted from the previous section. Describe their places in life at this point.

5. Describe how the characters feel during the dinner they share in Section 8.

6. Why does Bernard travel to Rome in Section 7?

7. What is most notable about Section 5's opening description and why?

8. Describe how Susan appears in Section 6.

9. Why is it significant that Bernard is not the first speaker in Section 5?

10. What is the significance of the way the birds are depicted in Section 7's introduction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Write an essay that details the significance of setting in this novel. We are exposed to both the country and the city, the classroom and the church, and spend a fair amount of time in cafés and restaurants. The setting in the introductory vignettes are also of particular significance. Examine the discrepancies in descriptions of settings between the monologues and the vignettes, and evaluate who, if any, of the characters have a particular fascination with setting.

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