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

2. What time of day does the passage at the beginning of Section 5 describe?

3. What does Bernard seem to be struggling to do during his final monologue of Section 8?

4. In Section 6, who does Susan deride towards the end of her monologue?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe how Susan appears in Section 6.

3. How is Section 6's opening description distinct, and what should the reader expect from the rest of the section?

4. Characterize the way Bernard appears in Section 5.

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

6. What is the significance of the way the birds are depicted in Section 7's introduction?

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

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

9. Which image becomes more dominant in Section 8's introductory vignette, and what do you think it signifies?

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

How is Woolf able to create a coherent text that features a plot that can be summed up in the course of a few sentences (which you should offer in the course of your essay)? What are her greatest successes and greatest failures? Keep in mind that this was Virgina Woolf's last fully completed novel published before her suicide, and is often regarded as her masterpiece (although many of her works are generally considered masterpieces in their own right). Do you agree with the historical appraisal of this novel? It is okay to not like, or even hate this novel, a text that engages in such high levels of experimentation is likely to be divisive. In regard to how you feel towards the novel in particular, try and fathom whatever the opposite opinion could be. That is, if you find the novel successful, talk about how you can see that others may find it tedious and difficult.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Louis and Bernard, who seem to constantly sway between admiration and jealousy toward each other. Why do they pursue such separate life paths? What leads them to their major decisions? How do they find themselves at the novel's conclusion? What makes them arguably the two most similar characters in the text?

(see the answer keys)

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