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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. Who is holding Louis's hand in Section 8?

2. Which speaker follows Susan in Section 7?

3. To what kind of historical figures does Louis compare himself in Section 6?

4. For how long does Bernard stay where he travels in Section 7?

5. Whose Section 6 monologue features a musing on the passing of seasons?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe how Louis appears in Section 6.

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

4. 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?

5. Characterize Neville's state of mind as he appears at the end of Section 6.

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

7. What is different about Susan in Section 7?

8. In Section 6, we encounter the three character who were omitted from the previous section. Describe their places in life at this point.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Using ample textual evidence, agree or disagree with the statement that Woolf succeeds in authentically depicting the individual's quest for understanding of both self and the world around him or her. Develop an argument supported by the text.

Essay Topic 2

For a novel that features characters who think so much about self-determination and identity, what does Woolf ultimately say about the quest for self-knowledge? Develop an argument that includes plenty of textual evidence to support your belief.

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate the novel's final image. It is an appropriate one? What is the significance of both the waves as they appear in these vignettes, and as a title? Are there other instances of waves appearing in this novel, rather than in their literal form? There are many instances where a character's interior monologue describes something as being wave-like. Does the novel structurally parallel waves?

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