View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Why do the aunts and uncles think that Maggie should not go back into service?

2. What is Maggie's plan for supporting herself when she returns to St. Ogg's?

3. What happens once Maggie and Stephen reach land?

4. What is Stephen Guest's first reaction to hearing that Maggie is coming to visit her cousin Lucy?

5. What is George Eliot trying to communicate with the title, "The Torn Nest is Pierced by the Thorns"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick a passage from The Mill on the Floss. Then write an essay in which you analyze its tone. In your analysis, try to determine what the narrator is trying to communicate subtly, with her tone, in addition to the message that she communicates overtly, using words.

Essay Topic 2

When Maggie is a child, the adults around her worry about her future. Why do they worry so much about her? What is their main concern? Support your answer with details from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper analyzing the plot development in The Mill on the Floss. What do you feel is the climax of the plot? How does Eliot build tension prior to that point? How does she wind the book down after the climax?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 407 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample