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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 has Kitty acted strangely and desperately?

2. How does Virginia feel around servants?

3. How many words has Virginia written in this session?

4. What crisis looms before tea?

5. To what is Laura's love for Richie compared?

Short Essay Questions

1. How pervasive are the voices Virginia hears?

2. Why is Laura fearful of Richie making an error as he helps her make the cake?

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

4. What is the significance of the literary prize that Richard has been awarded?

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

6. What is notable about Richard's good fortune?

7. What is unusual about the headache Virginia suffers?

8. Of what significance is the bird that Laura briefly glimpses?

9. What sets a favorable writing mindset for Virginia Woolf in this chapter?

10. What does Virginia Woolf value about youth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the novel The Hours have to say to us about human love and human frailty? Express your ideas with close reference to the text.

Essay Topic 2

'Freedom is a concept, but not an experience.' How might this be applied to the characters in Michael Cunningham's The Hours?

Essay Topic 3

'In the debate about life versus suicide that tracks across the pages of Cunningham's The Hours, there is no winner.' Do you agree?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 858 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample