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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. With what profession is Nelly's calm compared?

2. What does Richard call death?

3. In Walter, what does Sally find unbearable?

4. How much of her book has Laura now read?

5. What world does Laura feel she now inhabits?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Louis think of Clarissa?

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

3. Why is suicide not an option for Laura?

4. What gives Laura the feeling that she has actually succeeded in achieving a kind of perfection?

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

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

7. What do the two women exchange as Laura prepares to return home?

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

9. Why has Virginia's attitude changed?

10. Why does Laura delay joining her husband in bed as his birthday draws to an end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

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

'The ways in which people approach their everyday activities tells us a great deal about them.' Closely explore the way this happens in Michael Cunningham's The Hours.

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