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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. To whom is Letter #159 addressed?

2. Why does C.S. Lewis use the name Numenor in one of his stories?

3. As Tolkien explains in Letter #246, what is the main difference between Gandalf and Sauron?

4. How does Tolkien describe his work for a dictionary?

5. What feeling does Tolkien have about knowing the entire story of The Lord of the Rings?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Tolkien's letter to W.H. Auden, what drives humans towards certain behaviors?

2. What important announcement does Tolkien make to Christopher Bretherton in Letter #253 about his connection to childhood?

3. How did being a father help Tolkien in writing one of his most well known stories, The Hobbit?

4. What observation is made about Tolkien's work that prompts him to evaluate Frodo's heroic status?

5. Which familiar people does Tolkien continue to write to in the "Later Years," and which recipients are new?

6. Who does Tolkien thank in his letter to D. Auden on 1955?

7. What previously unmentioned career achievement does Tolkien reveal to Christopher Bretherton in Letter #253?

8. What issues is Tolkien having with the cover images for The Lord of the Rings books and how does he handle the situation?

9. What problem of Sauron does Tolkien describe in his letter to Auden as an example of human behavior?

10. How does Allen & Unwin respond to Tolkien's opinion of the cover images?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Tolkien's career as a professor and his career as an author while he is waiting for The Lord of the Rings to be published. Include several examples of his descriptions of his teaching responsibilities, how he approached them during this time, and the reminder he used when he became concerned with the publishing of his work. Then, analyze the way Tolkien writes about his teaching career after his books have become successful and he has been promoted to Senior Professor.

Essay Topic 2

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien begins with Tolkien's early letters from 1914 while he was an undergraduate at Oxford University.

1) Describe the events that Tolkien includes in his letters about his relationship with Edith and why it is important to him.

2) Explain how Tolkien discusses his time at Oxford, his education, and his classes.

3) Analyze Tolkien's writing style in his earliest letters.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Tolkien's friendship with C.S. Lewis using his own accounts in the letters he writes about Lewis. Also, explain the controversy surrounding Lewis' work, the way Tolkien deals with his death, and the facts that Tolkien includes in remembering Lewis.

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