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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 does Mr. Tulliver want Tom to study drawing?

2. How does the narrator say that Maggie looks compared to her cousin Lucy?

3. How does Tom spend his afternoon on the day that he gets home?

4. What do the Tullivers think of their daughter, Maggie?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. Why does Tom try to convince Philip to come and see the sword demonstration?

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

4. Why is Mr. Tulliver so shocked not to be able to come up with a plan to come up with the money for his mortgage?

5. How do Mrs. Tulliver's sisters react to the actions of the Tulliver children?

6. How does Maggie feel about Philip when she finally sees him again at her cousin Lucy's house?

7. Why does Lucy at first think that Stephen and Maggie do not like each other?

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

9. Why do you think that Book Six ends with the chapter in which Maggie leaves Stephen and returns to St. Ogg's?

10. Is Bob trying to court Maggie when he brings her the gift of books?

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

Research the legal issues that are raised during The Mill on the Floss. Then analyze Mr. Tulliver's legal problems. In your opinion, is Mr. Tulliver in the right? Why or why not? Use evidence from the book and from your own research to support your view.

Essay Topic 3

When Maggie is a child, the adults around her worry about her future. Why do they worry so much about her? What is their main concern? Support your answer with details from the novel.

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