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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. In what city is Bernard in the beginning of Section 4?

2. Which of the girls is first to speak in Section 2?

3. How does Rhoda react to the party in Section 3?

4. Who begins Section 3?

5. Who did Bernard seek to comfort during Section 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly analyze how the characters have developed as a group in the first two sections of the novel.

2. Briefly analyze Neville's attitude towards religion.

3. Why does Woolf use a line or two of monologue rather than dialogue to introduce the children in Section 1?

4. Describe the way Section 3's introduction, the italicized vignette, fits in with the rest of Section 3 as a whole.

5. Why is Bernard's announcement of his engagement in Section 4 significant?

6. When the characters change locations in the text, it is not always noticeable. Identify why this is and the effect on the reader.

7. What is significant about the way Section 2 is introduced?

8. Describe how Section 2 is structured.

9. Why is Susan so distressed after she saw Jinny kiss Louis?

10. What is the major event that occurs in Section 4, and why is it significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the novel's two most troubled characters: Rhoda and Neville. Identify their weaknesses as individuals, and offer the sources of their peculiarities. This essay should include detailed descriptions and evaluations of each of these characters and even offer ideas as to how they function similarly and differently.

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the success or failure of Woolf's writing style in this novel. The use of intertwining monologues is clearly the most significant decision Woolf made when preparing to write this text, but it is now your turn to critique whether or not the style is effective. If the characters are always speaking, why doesn't Woolf compose a play? Why do some characters have their monologues featured, while other monologues are easy to glaze over while reading? Does Woolf succeed in creating a cohesive consciousness out of these six voices? If so, where do you find it at its most effective in the text, and if not, then what does Woolf succeed in creating with this stylistic method?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of Woolf choosing the passage of a single day as a metaphor for the passage of a group of lives from childhood to old age and even death? What about the metaphor is apt, and what does not seem proper? Why does Woolf include such a vast variety of images that do not always play into the central meaning of the text? What is the importance of the italicization of these passages? Elaborate as much as you can.

(see the answer keys)

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