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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. In Section 7, which two people does Susan name as those she "thinks sometimes of"?

2. Where are the characters gathering in Section 8?

3. What does Rhoda offer to Percival in Section 5?

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

5. What is the first thing the reader learns in Section 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which image becomes more dominant in Section 8's introductory vignette, and what do you think it signifies?

2. What in particular separates Section 7 from the prior two sections, and why is that significant?

3. What are the characters doing at the beginning of Section 8, and why is that important?

4. Describe how Jinny appears in Section 6.

5. How does Bernard's role change in Section 8, and what evidence do you have to support that?

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

7. Elaborate on what Rhoda identifies as the problems the characters have faced in their lives in Section 8.

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

9. Characterize the way Bernard appears in Section 5.

10. Describe how Susan appears in Section 6.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write a detailed essay that argues that Percival is either: 1) an intrinsic character to the novel, made only more important by the fact that he doesn't speak and dies at the novel's midpoint or 2) a kind of outlier or distraction, both for the characters in the text and the reader. In the course of this essay evaluate Percival's significance, his effect on each of the characters, and the role his death plays in shaping other character's lives.

(see the answer keys)

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