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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. North Oxford had become a community of academics, their wives, and families who lived where?

2. Carpenter meets Edith. How does he describe her?

3. Tolkien had decided that in order to create a new language he would also have to create what?

4. One notable aspect of the photos is what?

5. At the Oratory, who does Mabel Tolkien meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ronald do without Edith in his life?

2. What did members of Exeter College think of Ronald when he came in second place?

3. How does Mabel feel about Bloemfontein? How does she act in regards to her feelings? Why does she act this way?

4. What happens when Mabel and the boys return to England for a visit?

5. What did G.B. Smith's words, "May you say the things I have tried to say long after I am not there to say them," do for Ronald?

6. What did Tolkien create with Eric Valentine Gordon?

7. What does Ronald think of Exeter College?

8. How does Father Francis feel about Ronald's engagement to Edith?

9. Why is Arthur Tolkien in South Africa?

10. What is odd about the Bloemfontein home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ronald's parents greatly influenced him.

Part 1) Describe Ronald's parents. How is he like his parents?

Part 2) Why are his parents, especially his mother, so influential?

Part 3) How do his parents affect his life and work? How do others influence Tolkien and his work?

Essay Topic 2

Tolkien has a few close friends.

Part 1) Who does he consider to be his close friends? What does he have in common with these individuals?

Part 2) How do these friends influence his life and work? When these friends are lost, for example, due to death, how is Tolkien affected? What does this reveal about him?

Part 3) Who are your close friends? How do they influence you? How do you support one another in various aspects of your life? How might your life change if those friends were no longer in your life?

Essay Topic 3

Ronald falls in love with Edith Bratt.

Part 1) Who is Edith Bratt? How does Ronald meet her? What attracts him to her?

Part 2) How does his love and relationship with Edith resemble his parent's relationship? What do his intense feelings for Edith reveal about him as a person?

Part 3) How does his relationship with Edith change over time? What causes these changes?

(see the answer keys)

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