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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. Why is it particularly bad timing for Mr. Tulliver to lose the lawsuit?

2. Why does Philip's deformity make Maggie feel more tender toward him?

3. Who is Mr. Tulliver planning to send away to school?

4. What helps Mrs. Glegg to feel better about her argument with Mr. Glegg?

5. How does Maggie de-stress when she is frustrated?

Short Essay Questions

1. The title of Book Five, last chapter, Chapter Seven, "A Day of Reckoning," has a double meaning. What is it?

2. What do we learn about Tom's character from his response to the aunts and uncles after his father's accident?

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

4. Using the descriptions provided by their parents (Mr. and Mrs. Tulliver), compare and contrast the characters of Tom and Maggie.

5. Do you think that Tom has a fairly flexible, tolerant nature, or is he more stubborn and rigid? Explain your answer in terms of Tom's reaction to Lucy's attempts to peacemaker between him and Philip Wakem on Maggie's behalf.

6. How does Philip put Tom's mind at ease after the accident?

7. What objection does Tom's Uncle Deane raise to buying the mill, after Tom first asks him to do it? Why does Tom think that it might be possible to buy the mill?

8. The day that Tom comes home from school for the first time, what events occur that foreshadow the flood at the end of the book?

9. Describe Maggie's childhood relationship with Tom.

10. Why do you think that George Eliot ends Book III with Mr. Tullivan's assertion in the Bible that he wishes Wakem evil?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

At the end of Book Three, Mr. Tulliver insists on having Tom write in the Bible that Mr. Tulliver never wants to work for Wakem and that although he serves him honestly, he wishes evil befalls him. Why do you think that Mr. Tulliver wants to have these words written in the Bible? Why does the family find it so shocking that he writes these words in the Bible? Support your answer with details from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Explain how Tom connects to the theme of generosity in The Mill on the Floss. How do other people treat Tom when he is in need of generosity? How does he treat others when the person in need is someone else, such as Maggie? Be sure to include examples from the book.

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