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. What causes Laura's unexpressed desperation?

2. What prompts Laura's fury?

3. At what time of day does Virginia set off for a walk?

4. To Clarissa, what does Mary resemble?

5. What is the toothbrush-holder made of?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is Laura's ambivalence towards her husband evident in Chapter 19 of The Hours?

2. What is ironic about Richard's apartment being open to the light?

3. In what ways are Clarissa and Mary different?

4. Why is suicide not an option for Laura?

5. Why has Virginia's attitude changed?

6. What does Virginia see as a kind of devil?

7. What is Sally's reaction to Walter's present-buying?

8. What are Laura's rather bitter hopes about heaven?

9. What fears does Virginia have at this point in the novel?

10. What makes Virginia, at this point, begin to reconsider killing off her character, Mrs. Dalloway?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the ways in which multiple points of view enrich the narrative in Michael Cunningham's The Hours.

Essay Topic 2

How can knowledge of the context in which literature was composed deepen a reader's appreciation of the text? In your answer, refer closely to The Hours by Michael Cunningham, but you might expand your response by including reference to an additional text.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the tension between commitment and freedom in the lives of the characters in Michael Cunningham's The Hours. Focus particularly on two major characters and one minor one.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 814 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample