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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. Which of the characters appears most able to move on from the significant news in Section 5?

2. What about her life is Jinny bemoaning when she begins her monologue in Section 7?

3. What significant fact do we learn about Susan's life in Section 6?

4. Who notices the hand-holding between two characters in Section 8?

5. In Section 5, who asks, "but what is the thing that lies beneath the semblance of the thing?"

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe how Susan appears in Section 6.

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

4. What is significant about how Rhoda appears in Section 7?

5. Describe how Jinny appears in Section 6.

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

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

8. What do the characters do after they leave the restaurant in Section 8, and what happens then?

9. What is different about Susan in Section 7?

10. Why doesn't Percival's death have a strong effect on Bernard in Section 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay which compares and contrasts any two of the sections' introductory vignettes. Pick one vignette which is typical of the whole novel, and one which is atypical (there are two in particular). What separates these vignettes? Include as many reasons as you can think of as to why Woolf would change her method at such a point in the text.

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

Write a detailed essay which examines the many instances of foreshadowing in this novel. Of particular significance here is the way the characters appear in the first two sections to how they appear in the final sections. Consider comparing and contrasting the young and adult characters. Another good idea would be to look at Sections 4 and 8, the two most important sections which feature all of the characters in the same place and time. Pay particular attention to what emotions the characters have as children and how much these emotions carry over to their adult lives.

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