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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 is in their home in St. Ogg's when Tom and Maggie arrive from Lorton?

2. While Mr. Tulliver is talking to Mr. Riley about Tom, what does he confide in Mr. Riley about Maggie?

3. When Mr. Tulliver wakes up, what does he tell Tom to do about the family's bankruptcy?

4. Why does Maggie leap to Tom's defense while Mr. Tulliver discusses Tom's education with Mr. Riley?

5. How does Tom feel about the argument with Philip?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Bob so determined to help Tom?

2. Why does Maggie allow Philip to believe that her feelings toward him are unchanged?

3. Why are the townspeople at St. Ogg's not surprised when the river starts to flood?

4. Why are Stephen and Maggie so sure that they should not marry?

5. How does Maggie react when she realizes that she and Steven go too far in the boat?

6. Why is Mr. Deane, at first, so unwilling to help Tom after Mr. Tulliver's accident?

7. How does Maggie feel when Philip declares his love for her?

8. Why is Mr. Tulliver so shocked not to be able to come up with a plan to come up with the money for his mortgage?

9. Why do you think that Dr. Kenn offers Maggie a job as a governess when she returns from her boat trip with Stephen?

10. Why is Maggie having such a bad day on the day after the aunts and uncles come to dinner?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Maggie's childhood relationship with Tom foreshadow the relationship she has with him as an adult? Compare Tom's tendency to alternately indulge and shame Maggie as a child with the way he treats her as an adult, when he interferes in her relationships with men. Support your answer with examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think that Maggie choses to marry neither Philip Wakem nor Stephen Guest? Explain what Maggie is thinking and why she wants to remain single. Use examples from The Mill on the Floss to support your point of view.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the motif of flooding in the novel. How do the early references to flooding foreshadow the flood at the end of the book? Do the references to floods refer to something other than physical floods? Is there a connection between flooding in The Mill on the Floss and the emotional transformations of the characters from the start of the book to the end? Why or why not? Support your answer with details from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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