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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 do you think that George Eliot chooses to begin a new book, Book II, with the chapter in which Tom first goes away to school?

2. How do Philip and Maggie become close?

3. When Mr. Tulliver wakes up, what does he tell Tom to do about the family's bankruptcy?

4. What does Mrs. Moss do when she arrives?

5. How does Mrs. Tulliver hope that her sisters help the family recover from bankruptcy?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Bob so determined to help Tom?

2. How does Mr. Tulliver react when Mrs. Tulliver tells him that Mrs. Pullet plans to intervene on his behalf with her sister, Mrs. Glegg?

3. How is Mrs. Tulliver saved from the flood?

4. What is Stephen Guest looking for in a wife? What qualities does he see in Lucy that appeal to him?

5. Describe Maggie's character, based on her behavior during her childhood.

6. Why does Maggie refuse the book that Philip tries to offer her when she runs into him, after the family goes bankrupt?

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

8. Why doesn't Mrs. Tulliver realize that she is unlikely to convince Mr. Wakem not to buy the mill?

9. Why do you think that Philip Wakem is able to forgive Maggie for the boat trip so easily, while many of the townspeople cannot?

10. Why are the townspeople at St. Ogg's not surprised when the river starts to flood?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Siblings often do not get along. In your opinion, is the relationship between Maggie and Tom typical of siblings, or do they have a stormier relationship than most? Analyze Maggie and Tom's relationship, arguing that it is or is not typical.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Do you think that Maggie is better off ending up with Philip, with Stephen, or with neither? Defend your perspective. Be sure to include evidence from The Mill on the Floss to support your case.

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