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Literature: Senior High School: 11th and 12th Grade Quiz - Silas Marner - Themes (Questions)

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This senior high school English Literature quiz challenges you on themes in George Eliot's Silas Marner. Themes in a work of literature can be very obvious or very subtle. Often the various themes intertwine and comment upon one another. Theme is communicated through the concepts and ideas of the text, connecting setting, character, plot and dialog. Pay close attention to the related ideas you detect and try to follow the development of a theme over the course of a text.

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When writing about themes, check whether your final thoughts as you reach the end of the text match those you had at the beginning. Have your ideas changed? If so, try to pinpoint when and where your views on a key theme began to change.

Authors communicate meaning to readers through the themes with which they engage in the text.

Ideally, issues raised in the text will prompt readers to reconsider their own beliefs or ways of looking at the world. If a text can force you to think and maybe even change your mind, then the author has successfully encouraged you to engage with one or more of its themes. You might notice that you disagree strongly with other readers (or even your teacher), rather than sharing the same views on an issue. This is because your response to a text will be deeply personal, which is inevitable when you bring your own thoughts, beliefs and experiences into consideration of the text.

George Eliot's Silas Marner deals with themes of wealth, isolation, secrets, community, faith, family, and home. These themes are interrelated, each touching upon the lives of various characters in different ways. Most of these themes are easily apparent and often stated outright by the narrator; others reveal themselves through subtext.

Read the questions below and test your knowledge of the themes of Silas Marner by George Eliot.

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1. "No one knew where wandering men had their homes or their origin; and how was a man to be explained unless you at least knew somebody who knew his father and mother?" How is this suspicion on the part of the villagers counteracted in the novel?
[ ] Eppie is an orphan, as well as literally a wanderer, and is beloved by the villagers
[ ] Dunstan is forgiven for his wandering morality because he is well-known to the villagers
[ ] The only reason the villagers like and trust Aaron is because they know his parents well
[ ] None of the above
2. Why do the people of Raveloe mistrust Silas before the theft of his gold?
[ ] His work is not sufficiently high in quality
[ ] He is an outsider
[ ] He belongs to the chapel in Lantern Yard
[ ] He has no family or children
3. Godfrey's life is diminished to the same extent in which Silas's is enriched. Why?
[ ] Godfrey follows his brother Dunstan into irresponsibility and other damaging behaviors
[ ] Godfrey becomes miserly, as Silas had been
[ ] Silas puts immediate gain above his responsibilities
[ ] Godfrey puts immediate gain above his responsibilities
4. The novel portrays Eppie as a treasure to replace Silas's lost gold. Which of the following is true?
[ ] Silas's pleasure in his gold is harmful and diminishes his life, while his love of Eppie enables him to grow and to live
[ ] Silas's gold holds no value, while his love of Eppie is the only value in his life
[ ] Although Silas loves Eppie dearly, he never stops longing for his lost gold
[ ] Eppie and the gold are equal in value
5. In the first part of the novel, what is considered to be lacking in both Silas's cottage and in the Red House, the Squire's home?
[ ] Comfort
[ ] The necessities of life
[ ] Books
[ ] The civilizing influence of women
6. What does the novel say about community?
[ ] Community is wholly good
[ ] Communities should never be trusted
[ ] Communities, like their individual members, can be forces for good or for ill
[ ] Town communities are untrustworthy, but village communities are without fault
7. What replaces the chapel community in Lantern Yard?
[ ] A village church
[ ] Some public baths
[ ] A pub
[ ] A factory
8. Dolly stamps the letters "I. H. S." on her cakes. What is her explanation for this practice?
[ ] They are the same letters which she sees in church
[ ] The letters vary according to the type of cake she has made
[ ] She uses these letters to teach Aaron how to read
[ ] She has no reason for the practice
9. What is the significance of the hearth in the novel?
[ ] The hearth represents modern beliefs and practices
[ ] The hearth represents life and the heart of the home
[ ] The hearth represents isolation
[ ] All of the above
10. Raveloe cannot be protected from coming change. Which of the following is true of change in the novel?
[ ] Change always involves going from good to bad
[ ] Change is always for the better
[ ] Change is neutral
[ ] Not all changes are for the good, but remaining immune to change can be dangerous for the soul
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Literature: Senior High School: 11th and 12th Grade Quiz - Silas Marner - Themes (Answers)
1. "No one knew where wandering men had their homes or their origin; and how was a man to be explained unless you at least knew somebody who knew his father and mother?" How is this suspicion on the part of the villagers counteracted in the novel?
[x] Eppie is an orphan, as well as literally a wanderer, and is beloved by the villagers
[ ] Dunstan is forgiven for his wandering morality because he is well-known to the villagers
[ ] The only reason the villagers like and trust Aaron is because they know his parents well
[ ] None of the above
Eppie wanders into the life of Silas, one of these suspicious, unexplained men
2. Why do the people of Raveloe mistrust Silas before the theft of his gold?
[ ] His work is not sufficiently high in quality
[x] He is an outsider
[ ] He belongs to the chapel in Lantern Yard
[ ] He has no family or children
The primary reason the villagers mistrust Silas is because he is an incomer to the village. This instinctive mistrust is also apparent when a traveling pedlar is blamed for the theft. Silas's knowledge of herbs also invites suspicion
3. Godfrey's life is diminished to the same extent in which Silas's is enriched. Why?
[ ] Godfrey follows his brother Dunstan into irresponsibility and other damaging behaviors
[ ] Godfrey becomes miserly, as Silas had been
[ ] Silas puts immediate gain above his responsibilities
[x] Godfrey puts immediate gain above his responsibilities
Godfrey has more than one opportunity to acknowledge Eppie as his own daughter, but only does so when it is too late because he cannot face the loss of Nancy and the regard of his friends, family and acquaintances. He only realizes how impoverished his life has been when Eppie has grown up
4. The novel portrays Eppie as a treasure to replace Silas's lost gold. Which of the following is true?
[x] Silas's pleasure in his gold is harmful and diminishes his life, while his love of Eppie enables him to grow and to live
[ ] Silas's gold holds no value, while his love of Eppie is the only value in his life
[ ] Although Silas loves Eppie dearly, he never stops longing for his lost gold
[ ] Eppie and the gold are equal in value
Silas is grateful for the return of his money after it has lost its hold over him. He sees the money itself as useful as long as he has the correct attitude to it
5. In the first part of the novel, what is considered to be lacking in both Silas's cottage and in the Red House, the Squire's home?
[ ] Comfort
[ ] The necessities of life
[ ] Books
[x] The civilizing influence of women
Eppie and Nancy make their homes more pleasant places to be. Eppie, in particular, brings life; this is represented not only by her marriage at the end of the novel, but also by the pets identified as one amongst many positive changes to come to Silas's home
6. What does the novel say about community?
[ ] Community is wholly good
[ ] Communities should never be trusted
[x] Communities, like their individual members, can be forces for good or for ill
[ ] Town communities are untrustworthy, but village communities are without fault
Silas is harmed when the community of Lantern Yard turns against him and is supported by the community of Raveloe. However, Raveloe is slow to warm to Silas and is instinctively mistrustful until he is made vulnerable by the theft and by his adoption of Eppie. Despite its eventually welcoming embrace, Raveloe is shown to be susceptible to gossip, too
7. What replaces the chapel community in Lantern Yard?
[ ] A village church
[ ] Some public baths
[ ] A pub
[x] A factory
The chapel was close to the jail on Prison Street and has been replaced by a factory. Are the factory workers as imprisoned in their circumstances as Silas had been in his?
8. Dolly stamps the letters "I. H. S." on her cakes. What is her explanation for this practice?
[x] They are the same letters which she sees in church
[ ] The letters vary according to the type of cake she has made
[ ] She uses these letters to teach Aaron how to read
[ ] She has no reason for the practice
Eliot depicts religious beliefs as being fairly incomprehensible to the ordinary people who hold them. Silas has a better understanding of theology, but has lost his faith. Dolly trusts the letters, which are found in church, without understanding their meaning (IHS is an abbreviation for Jesus Christ)
9. What is the significance of the hearth in the novel?
[ ] The hearth represents modern beliefs and practices
[x] The hearth represents life and the heart of the home
[ ] The hearth represents isolation
[ ] All of the above
Eppie appears at Silas's hearth. He later refuses to modernize his cooking arrangements because he does not wish to lose this sacred spot. Nancy also imagines her children playing at the hearth
10. Raveloe cannot be protected from coming change. Which of the following is true of change in the novel?
[ ] Change always involves going from good to bad
[ ] Change is always for the better
[ ] Change is neutral
[x] Not all changes are for the good, but remaining immune to change can be dangerous for the soul
Ultimately, even leaving Lantern Yard in such traumatic circumstances proves to be a great opportunity for positive change in Silas's life. Without openness to change, his life would have become ossified in loneliness and miserliness