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

2. After the Hobbits originate, where does the Dark Power that Tolkien describes in Letter #131 exist?
(a) Rivendell.
(b) Gondor.
(c) Mordor.
(d) Mirkwood.

3. How long does Tolkien indicate he has been working with the imaginary realms in Letter #130?
(a) Years.
(b) Decades.
(c) Months.
(d) Weeks.

4. In Letter, #6, to what college subject does Tolkien refer?
(a) Astronomy.
(b) English Literature.
(c) History.
(d) Middle English.

5. Which of the following is the main thing that separates the Hobbits and the enemy?
(a) A misunderstanding.
(b) The quest for power.
(c) A lack of knowledge.
(d) The quest for gold.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which school is Tolkien attending when the first letter begins?

2. What does Tolkien focus on when his books make less than anticipated progress with publishers?

3. What happens when Tolkien first decides to approach the publishers about the delay of the books?

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

5. Which one of the following does Tolkien vigorously discuss in his letters?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Letters #66 and #69, how is Tolkien's relationship with Christopher defined?

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

3. In what way does Tolkien realistically depict his job as a professor in 1952?

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

5. What psychological dilemma does Tolkien discuss about the Elves in Letter #131?

6. What happens between Tolkien and Edith leading up to their engagement?

7. What is the One Ring of Power in Tolkien's stories?

8. How are the letters for "To Unwin about The Hobbit" chosen and what information is left out of them?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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