View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is described as being foreign-looking, with a Roman nose?

2. What does a good house speak of?

3. How does Clarissa think we ought first to measure people?

4. What happened to Kitty's husband during the War?

5. What is the reason for the slabs of italic type in this chapter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Richard's nickname for Clarissa ('Mrs Dalloway') an appropriate choice?

2. How does Laura plan to compensate for her neglect of Dan and Richie at breakfast?

3. What makes Clarissa Vaughan embarrassed?

4. When Dan returned from the war, why was he given special acclaim?

5. For what reasons has Virginia Woolf decided to end her life?

6. How does Laura attempt to achieve perfection?

7. Why is Clarissa hurt about Sally going out to lunch with Oliver St. Ives?

8. What fascinates Laura about Virginia Woolf's death?

9. Why does Virginia wish to avoid Nelly on this particular morning?

10. As presented in this chapter, what is Clarissa Vaughan's attitude to life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Birds and flowers are significant symbols in The Hours. Discuss the way these and one other symbol of your choice are used in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

How do the various characters in The Hours by Michael Cunningham deal with the disappointments in their lives? Focus on three characters. What kinds of disappointments are faced? Do the characters deal with their difficulties successfully, or not?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that discusses the contribution of the minor characters in The Hours. Could any of them have been omitted? What difference do they make to the story? Do they enrich it in any way?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,076 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample