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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. This company eventually apologized to Tolkien and offered to do what?

2. In 1971, Edith was taken to the hospital with what?

3. Why was Bournemouth a strange choice for holidays?

4. Rayner said that because Tolkien was not willing to do any editing or split the books into several volumes, Unwin should do what?

5. The woman took the typescript, read it and then did what with it?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Ronald do soon after Edith's death?

2. Describe Edith regaining of good spirits.

3. Why was the publication of THE HOBBIT quite a learning experience?

4. How did Tolkien feel about splitting the book into three volumes? Upon what did he insist?

5. How did Edith die?

6. Why was the story of THE HOBBIT written?

7. Describe one of the great mysteries about The Hobbit.

8. What ended Tolkien's focus on the new book and his Oxford professorship?

9. What did Tolkien think about writing a sequel to THE HOBBIT? Why? What was his plan for the sequel?

10. What happened when Oxford took notice of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After another tour of duty, Tolkien returns to Oxford and moves his family to Leeds.

Part 1) How does this affect the Tolkien's lives? Is this a good change in the Tolkien's lives? Why or why not?

Part 2) What role does the Viking Club play in Ronald's life? How might this have affected his family life? Why?

Part 3) How did this time at Oxford aid Tolkien in creating his language and preparing to write the books that would make him wealthy and famous?

Essay Topic 2

A myriad of photographs were taken of and by the Tolkien family.

Part 1) What does the author say about these photographs? Why are these photographs useful to the writing of this book?

Part 2) What do the photographs reveal about the Tolkien family life and interests? How does their family life compare to your own?

Part 3) What do these photographs reveal about Tolkien himself? How does this reveal about the connection between Tolkien and the characters he creates, as well as the stories he tells?

Essay Topic 3

World War I greatly affects Tolkien.

Part 1) What happens during this war to affect Tolkien and his family? How might this compare to how the war affected others throughout the world?

Part 2) How might the events surrounding World War I have influenced Tolkien's work? Explain. How might the war have affected other aspects of life during this time? How might these changes in everyday life have had an influence on Tolkien's work?

Part 3) How has this war affected us today? How different would our world be if World War I had never occurred?

(see the answer keys)

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