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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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.

2. Who is the initial publisher for Tolkien's books when "Publisher Drama" begins?
(a) Humphrey.
(b) Unwin.
(c) Collins.
(d) Allen.

3. As mentioned by Tolkien in Letter #131, when do the Hobbits first come into being?
(a) The First Age.
(b) The Second Age.
(c) The Third Age.
(d) The Fourth Age.

4. According to Tolkien in Letter #131, what is the source of magic in his stories?
(a) Only the Elves.
(b) The Machine and the Elves.
(c) Only the Machine.
(d) Neither the Machine nor the Elves.

5. Who does Tolkien say are the only people interested in reading his literary works in Letter #115?
(a) Only C.S. Lewis.
(b) Only his wife and son.
(c) C.S. Lewis and his son.
(d) C.S. Lewis and his wife.

Short Answer Questions

1. How much time has passed between Tolkien's initial idea for drawing maps and when it becomes an issue with a publisher?

2. How much of The Silmarillion takes place before the arrival of human beings?

3. What has Tolkien found in his manuscript when he writes Letter #69?

4. Whom does Tolkien originally ask to draw maps for the imaginary world of The Lord of the Rings?

5. Who is the person that Tolkien thanks, and is the recipient of Letter #130?

Short Essay Questions

1. What message does Tolkien hear when he is becoming impatient about the publishing of The Lord of the Rings?

2. What change does Tolkien consider and eventually make to The Hobbit in Letters #128 and #129, and why is it significant?

3. What are galleys in literature and how does Tolkien respond to the editing process of The Lord of the Rings?

4. How does Rayner Unwin first contact Tolkien, leading to his involvement with publishing The Lord of the Rings?

5. What is the power of the pen and how does Tolkien explain it?

6. How does Tolkien describe the development of his penchant for stories in Letter #130?

7. What happened when the Elves and the Dwarves became friends in the past of Tolkien's fictional realm?

8. What happens between Collins and Tolkien during the publishing of The Lord of the Rings?

9. How does Tolkien explain the role of humans and mankind in his stories in Letter #131?

10. What is the similarity between the Elves and the Machine, and what is the main difference between both sides, according to Tolkien in Letter #131?

(see the answer keys)

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