Has the author been true to the life of a certain place and time? (See Introduction, p. 34.) Is the setting closely interwoven with the story, or could the scene have been changed without loss of interest to New England, or to some other place, fifty or a hundred years later? Give reasons. PLOT.--Make a list of the most important scenes (seven or eight in all), note the train of incidents that leads to each, and the suggestions in each that prepare us for the further development of the story. Show that there are two distinct stories separately introduced, but finally woven together. Note in what places these distinct stories touch each other and how they are knitted together. In the arrangement of the scenes is there any attempt at contrast? (See Introduction, p. 40.) Are any of them merely episodes that might be omitted without loss to the story? Most of the scenes mark a climax. Is there any one scene so interesting and important by reason of the characters brought together and the facts unfolded that we may call it the climax of the story? Is there unity in the plot? What use is made of Marner's cataleptic fits in the development of the plot? How are we prepared for the explanation of the mystery of the lost gold? (See p. 94, ll. 24-29; p. 97, ll. 17-20; p. 241, l. 29; p. 242, l. 3; p. 268, ll. 3-21.) Why does the author cause Marner to go back to Lantern Yard and fail to learn anything of his former friends and the results of their injustice? How many of the principal characters are brought into the last chapter? Is what is said of them, and what they say themselves, characteristic? Has the scene any beauty in itself? Sum up the features that make it a fitting conclusion. CHARACTERS.--From what classes of society does the author take her characters? Is she equally successful in dealing with the different classes? Contrast Nancy and Priscilla. Which is the more interesting? Why? Trace the changes that take place in the characters of Silas Marner and Godfrey Cass. Do the other characters change too, or are they essentially the same throughout the story? Do you think Marner's sudden loss of faith seems probable in view of his religious devotion? What is the significance of the Sally Oates incident (p. 65) in Marner's life? What effect did the gold have upon him? Contrast this with the influence of Eppie. In the development of Marner's character, what is the significance of the scene at the Rainbow when Marner tells his neighbors of the loss of his gold? What sort of man was Godfrey at the beginning of the story? Was there any excuse for him in his lack of manliness? State the struggle going on within him the night before he told his father about taking Fowler's money. What was the effect on him of telling only a little of his secret? Why did he at last tell Nancy all? What was his punishment? INTERPRETATION.--What idea does the development of Silas Marner's character illustrate?