View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 6, After the Fall of the Elves.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Letter #130, what distinction does Tolkien make about the artificial languages he creates for his books?
(a) They are never used in real life.
(b) They are seldom used in real life.
(c) They are the opposite of an actual real life language.
(d) They are a combination of two real-life languages.

2. What is the result of a friendship between the Elves and the Dwarves, as Tolkien explains in Letter #131?
(a) A decline of the arts.
(b) An improvement in education.
(c) A decline of education.
(d) An improvement in the arts.

3. What does Tolkien suggest is the greatest resource for the information the schoolboy is seeking in Letter #114?
(a) The Hobbit.
(b) The Lord of the Rings.
(c) Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.
(d) The Silmarillion.

4. In Letter #131, what reason does Tolkien reveal for creating his alternate world of fiction?
(a) To recreate a world that he had read about as a child.
(b) To fill the English people's need for their own fairy tale.
(c) To provide an example for how a society should be constructed.
(d) To make a world that is completely unbelievable in every way.

5. Which of the following is the main focal point of The Silmarillion?
(a) Hobbits.
(b) Magic.
(c) Dwarves.
(d) Elves.

Short Answer Questions

1. After the Hobbits originate, where does the Dark Power that Tolkien describes in Letter #131 exist?

2. How long does Tolkien indicate he has been working with the imaginary realms in Letter #130?

3. Who participates in the Machine?

4. In describing the power of the pen, what aspect of fiction writing does Tolkien refer to when explaining his own writing process and the way he invents characters?

5. In what month does Tolkien write to Christopher about the writing process for The Hobbit?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 311 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample