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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 Tom and his friend Bob fight?

2. What is Maggie most shocked by when she arrives at home after accompanying Tom home from Lorton?

3. How does Mr. Tulliver's accident cause Maggie to grow up?

4. Why does Mrs. Tulliver panic when she cannot find Maggie?

5. What do Mrs. Tulliver's sisters tell Mr. Tulliver about the clergyman he plans to send Tom to study with?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Tulliver get along very well? Why or why not?

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

3. What kind of person is Mrs. Glegg?

4. Why does Mr. Tulliver feel that the river's water should not be diverted for purposes of irrigation?

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

6. Why do you think that Maggie's mother and aunts pull together to help her upon her return from her boat trip with Stephen?

7. What do you think horrifies Tom the most about Maggie meeting Philip, the fact that Philip is a hunchback, or that he is the son of Mr. Wakem? Why?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Critics point out that George Eliot is much like Maggie Tulliver, except that George Eliot's life is far more scandalous. She has a close relationship with her father, and also has an older brother who is somewhat protective of her. George Eliot becomes involved, outside of marriage, with John Chapman, a London publisher and bookseller who already has a wife and a mistress. Later, she opts to live with George Henry Lewes, openly, because Lewes is still married, although Lewes' wife runs away to be with her lover. Eliot knows that she is criticized publicly for this decision. She also knows that if Lewes dies, she is left alone and does not inherit his property. Still, she lives with Lewes until the day he dies. She is ostracized by some people, including her own family.

Compare the life of Maggie Tulliver to the life of George Eliot. How are they similar? How are they different? Does Eliot intend for The Mill on the Floss to be a defense of her own behavior? You may wish to offer an opinion on this question. Be sure that you back up your opinion with facts from The Mill on the Floss and from the life of George Eliot.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the theme of loss in the The Mill on the Floss. The narrator's history of St. Ogg's indicates that floods are not unusual, and that often floods sweep away everything in their path. The townspeople, then, must have some history of dealing with loss. When else does the topic of loss come up? Explain how this theme is developed in the course of the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper analyzing the plot development in The Mill on the Floss. What do you feel is the climax of the plot? How does Eliot build tension prior to that point? How does she wind the book down after the climax?

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