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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. At the beginning of Section 2, when Mr. B wants to give Pamela the gift of clothes, how does he try to gain her trust?

2. What is Pamela's response to the idea proposed by Mr. Williams?

3. According to a short narrative passage in Section 4 after Pamela is due to go home, what new betrayal has Pamela suffered?

4. Following the dinner party incidents, what does Mr. B do to Pamela?

5. In the same letter, what other allegations does Mr. B make about Pamela?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Section 5, what role does Mr. Williams play in regard to Pamela's situation at Lincolnshire?

2. What incidents follow Pamela's loss of help from Mr. Williams?

3. As Pamela leaves for Lincolnshire what part do letters play in advancing the plot?

4. What other warnings do Pamela's parents give her at the beginning of the novel?

5. How is the foundation of Pamela's virtue established and reinforced in Section 2 when questions arise about Mr. B's intentions towards her?

6. After Pamela rejects Mr. B's proposal for her to become his mistress, to what lengths does he go to have his way with her?

7. What important aspects of the plot are revealed through Pamela's first letter to her parents?

8. In the preface to the novel, reference is made to the comment by the editor of "Pamela" that the book will become the standard for this style of writing. To what style of writing does the novel belong?

9. In Section 7, when Mr. B finally summons Pamela, what surprising development takes place?

10. How does Section 6 highlight the intensity of Pamela's struggle to save her virtue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Outline the characteristics of "the novel of manners" and discuss the evidence that "Pamela" deserves this classification.

Essay Topic 2

In referring to the potential impact of Pamela on readers, Richardson asserts "Let the desponding heart be comforted by the happy issue which the troubles and trials of PAMELA met with, when they see, in her case, that no danger nor distress, however inevitable, or deep to their apprehensions, can be out of the power of Providence to obviate or relieve." With special reference to this statement and using detailed references to the text, write a critical analysis of the purposes served by Pamela's trials in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

In adapting plays and novels for screen, producers and directors often make significant changes to the themes, characters and plot lines of the original. Having studied this novel in detail, evaluate the assertion that the themes, characters and plot lines of "Pamela" would have to be significantly modified to be a successful production for modern screen.

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