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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 Section 8, when does Bernard arrive in relation to the other characters?

2. By the end of Section 6, what can we say for sure about Neville's feelings towards Percival?

3. What is the first thing the reader learns in Section 5?

4. What one word is repeated throughout Susan's monologue in Section 6?

5. In Section 8, what happens between Rhoda and Louis?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how the characters feel during the dinner they share in Section 8.

2. Describe how Susan appears in Section 6.

3. The first thing the reader learns in Section 5 is that Percival has died. How did he die, and who does it seem to have the strongest effect on?

4. Describe how Louis appears in Section 6.

5. Why is it significant that Bernard is not the first speaker in Section 5?

6. What in particular separates Section 7 from the prior two sections, and why is that significant?

7. What are the characters doing at the beginning of Section 8, and why is that important?

8. How does the structure of Section 5 parallel the development of the characters?

9. Why does Bernard travel to Rome in Section 7?

10. Describe the way Louis is characterized in Section 7.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Evaluate the structure of this novel in the course of a detailed essay. Evaluate and identify the rising and falling action as well as the climax. Explain whether this text would have been executed more effectively if Woolf had chosen a different form rather than the constant intertwining of interior monologues.

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of a narrator in a typical novel? Is there are narrator in this text? Are each of the six characters a "narrator" because they "narrate?" How do you characterize the speaker that relates the introductory vignettes? Is Woolf the novel's narrator, or merely its architect? Explain what a narrator is, what kinds of narrators there are, whether there are any in this text, and if not, how that affects its reception by the reader.

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