View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Tolkien describe the change that he has made to his manuscript in Letter #129?
(a) Perfect.
(b) Negotiable.
(c) Final.
(d) Reversible.

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

3. What is the term "galleys" used to refer to in "The Professor"?
(a) Chapter summaries for a book.
(b) Reviews for a book.
(c) Advance posters advertising a book.
(d) Advance copies of a printed book.

4. Where is the man whose accent Tolkien refers to as "English after being wiped over with a dirty sponge" from?
(a) Connecticut.
(b) New England.
(c) Pennsylvania.
(d) New Hampshire.

5. How much time has passed between Tolkien's initial idea for drawing maps and when it becomes an issue with a publisher?
(a) A decade.
(b) Eight years.
(c) Four years.
(d) Over a decade.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Tolkien's new publisher need a summary of the books?

2. How old is J.R.R. Tolkien in the first letter?

3. How does Tolkien describe the alteration he is contemplating making to his manuscript in Letter #128?

4. How does Tolkien originally respond to Unwin's request about the poem?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How can the One Ring of Power be destroyed?

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

3. What request does Allen & Unwin have about Farmer Giles of Ham and how does Tolkien respond?

4. 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?

5. How does Tolkien design Farmer Giles of Ham and what does he think about it being considered a children's story?

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

7. How does Tolkien refer to The Hobbit in his early letters to Christopher?

8. How is Tolkien's proficiency in writing displayed in the story he tells to Christopher in his April 3, 1944, letter?

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

10. What are the Stages of History that Tolkien describes in Letter #131?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 780 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample