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

2. Where are the characters gathering in Section 8?

3. Generally, what word best describes the mood of Bernard at the end of section 8, as compared to the beginning?

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

5. What are the two dominant images of Section 8's introduction?

Short Essay Questions

1. Elaborate on what Rhoda identifies as the problems the characters have faced in their lives in Section 8.

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

3. Describe how Louis appears in Section 6.

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

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

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

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

8. Characterize the way Bernard appears in Section 5.

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

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

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

Write a detailed essay that argues that Percival is either: 1) an intrinsic character to the novel, made only more important by the fact that he doesn't speak and dies at the novel's midpoint or 2) a kind of outlier or distraction, both for the characters in the text and the reader. In the course of this essay evaluate Percival's significance, his effect on each of the characters, and the role his death plays in shaping other character's lives.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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