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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. How does Mr. Ramsay feel about marriage engagements?

2. What does Mrs. Ramsay think she could have managed better in her 50 years?

3. What does Lily see the Ramsay's as a symbol of?

4. What helps Mr. Ramsay forget about the annoyances at dinner?

5. What does Mrs. Ramsay do when she sees her husband looking at her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe why Mrs. Ramsay does not want her children to grow up.

2. Describe nature's impact on the summerhouse as it remains empty after the deaths of Mrs. Ramsay, Prue, and Andrew.

3. How does Lily Briscoe justify being a single woman?

4. What does Lily contemplate about the dead as she thinks about what she would have told Mrs. Ramsay about the Rayley's relationship?

5. Describe the scene as Mr. Bankes, Prue, Andrew, and Lily turn off the lights before going to bed.

6. Although Mrs. Ramsay describes the summerhouse they are renting as shabby, what does she like about being there?

7. As spring arrives, does it bring any joy to the summerhouse? Explain

8. Why does Mr. Ramsay think he cannot talk to his wife as she sits in the chair knitting after James goes to bed?

9. As Lily paints, she thinks of a time on the beach with Charles Tansley many years before. Mrs. Ramsay was sitting near them, writing letters, and watching. How does Lily believe Mrs. Ramsay affected the way she and Charles acted toward each other?

10. How does Lily Briscoe interpret William Bankes' feelings for Mrs. Ramsay?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Compare and contrast the characters of Mrs. Ramsay and Lily Briscoe.

2) Summarize the impact each character has on one another.

3) How is each character realistic in her view toward life, considering the time period in which the story takes place?

4) How do their roles as women differ? Cite examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

1) Evaluate the relationship between James and his mother, Mrs. Ramsay.

2) How does Mr. Ramsay affect James' and his mother's relationship?

3) What does Mrs. Ramsay wish for James' future?

4) How does James feel about his mother at the end of the novel?

5) Give examples from the story of how they interact with one another.

Essay Topic 3

The Lighthouse is one of the main constants throughout the novel. It is mentioned in all three parts of the story.

1) Explain the three different images Woolf gives of the lighthouse as the book progresses.

2) What is the significance of the lighthouse in each part of the novel?

3) What meaning does the lighthouse have for Mrs. Ramsay, James, Lily Briscoe, and Mr. Ramsay?

(see the answer keys)

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