View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why doesn't Philip want to ask Maggie to marry him right away?
(a) He does not want to offer her a life of poverty.
(b) He fears that his father and her brother do not approve.
(c) He feels certain that Maggie does not accept his proposal.
(d) He is not sure that he really wants to marry her.

2. Who does Maggie finally confide in about her feelings for Stephen?
(a) Mrs. Tulliver.
(b) Lucy.
(c) Her aunt Moss.
(d) Philip.

3. What kind of job does Maggie find to support herself?
(a) She becomes a seamstress for the town.
(b) She becomes a governess for Dr. Kenn's children.
(c) She becomes a housemaid in an inn.
(d) She becomes a cook in a local eatery.

4. What does Philip argue with his father, Mr. Wakem, about?
(a) He tells his father that he wants to get a job.
(b) He tries to convince his father to sell the mill.
(c) He tells his father that he is in love with Maggie.
(d) He argues that the dispute with the Tullivers should be set aside.

5. What do Tom and Maggie both fear when Tom announces to his father that he is able to pay the debts?
(a) That something happens to stop Tom from doing it.
(b) That the shock gives Mr. Tulliver a relapse.
(c) That Tom is tempted to tell his father about Maggie and Philip.
(d) That Mr. Tulliver refuses to let Tom do it.

6. Why does Lucy say that she rather not be engaged?
(a) She likes to skip the engagement and just get married.
(b) She fears that her family does not approve of Stephen.
(c) Being engaged means you get married soon.
(d) She does not like Stephen that well.

7. Why does Philip begin to play the piano badly?
(a) He is thinking about the last time he sees Maggie.
(b) He plans to ask Maggie to run away with him.
(c) He fears that Maggie and Stephen have feelings for each other.
(d) He is feeling very tired after his long trip.

8. Why does Lucy think that Tom changes his mind about Philip Wakem?
(a) Philip intervenes with his father about the mill.
(b) Philip's father agrees to a marriage between Philip and Maggie.
(c) Philip wants to do the honorable thing and marry Maggie.
(d) Philip deserves pity because he has a hunchback.

9. What clue does George Eliot give us to indicate that Stephen Guest is married at the end of the book?
(a) She refers to Stephen's wife and children.
(b) She says that he visits the tomb later "with a sweet face beside him".
(c) She has Stephen call out to his wife while they are visiting the tomb.
(d) She tells the reader outright that Stephen is married.

10. How does Lucy trick Stephen?
(a) She tells him that Maggie has not arrived yet.
(b) She makes him think that Maggie takes after Mrs. Tulliver.
(c) She suggests that Maggie is much older than she really is.
(d) She implies that Maggie is blond and blue-eyed.

11. Why does Lucy have a confidential conversation with her father the same evening that Philip first comes to visit?
(a) She wants to distract Maggie from Stephen.
(b) She wants to buy the mill herself and have her family run it.
(c) She wants to ask him if there is any chance of buying the mill.
(d) She wants to warn him that Maggie and Philip may still love each other.

12. What is George Eliot trying to communicate with the title, "The Torn Nest is Pierced by the Thorns"?
(a) Creditors keep coming to the door to ask for money.
(b) There are many birds and bird nests in the area around the Tullivers' house.
(c) The Tullivers do not seem to be making any effort to repair their nest and it just gets worse.
(d) The Tullivers are like birds living in a torn nest with thorns that poke them.

13. Why does Philip continue to visit the Red Deeps?
(a) He likes the scenery.
(b) He meets Stephen there to talk about Maggie.
(c) He needs the exercise.
(d) He feels as though Maggie's spirit is still there.

14. What does Tom want to do to make more money?
(a) Trade, by sending cargo out to foreign ports.
(b) Speculate by investing in businesses.
(c) Go back to school to get a better education.
(d) Get a second job.

15. How does Maggie try to stem her loneliness while she is living at home and nursing her father back to health?
(a) She visits all her old childhood haunts in the neighborhood.
(b) She sits with her mother and tries to cheer her up.
(c) She talks with Bob whenever he comes to visit.
(d) She finds Tom's old schoolbooks and begins to study them.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Stephen offend Maggie at the dance?

2. Why does Stephen want to marry Lucy?

3. Why does Maggie pore over the pages of a book while she is waiting for Lucy to return?

4. Is Maggie still in love with Stephen as she travels home?

5. How does Philip Wakem react to the news about Maggie and Stephen?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,003 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample