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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. What is unusual about Clarissa and Sally?

2. According to Virginia, what makes a person technically insane?

3. What is important about the imagery of the squirrel's tail?

4. How does this chapter begin?

5. What is the toothbrush-holder made of?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What distracts Laura as she gets out of her car at Mrs. Latch's house?

5. In what ways are Clarissa and Mary different?

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

7. Why is suicide not an option for Laura?

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

9. What is Richard's most precious memory of Clarissa?

10. Why has Virginia's attitude changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In what ways do you think imagery is important in Michael Cunningham's The Hours? Consider concepts and characters and refer closely to the novel.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

There are numerous interpersonal tensions running through all sections of Michael Cunningham's The Hours. Discuss two of these interpersonal tensions. Are they resolved during the novel? How do they affect the characters who are involved? How are these tensions associated with the themes and/or symbols that are important in the novel?

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