Study Island- Cultural Literature

The following excerpt is from Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre, which describes the difficulties and hardships women faced while pursuing a literary career in Victorian England. Women were expected to be involved in domestic life, and those interested in a job had to be content with the role of a private teacher, or governess. A woman setting out to do anything beyond this was met with disapproval. Charlotte Brontë initially settled for the role of a governess but later challenged these views and chose to become a writer. Her novel Jane Eyre was an instant success, launching her into literary fame. adapted from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Every now and then, I took a walk by myself in the grounds of Thornfield Hall, where I worked, and went down to the gates and looked through them along the road. While Adéle, my student, played with her friends, sometimes, I climbed the three staircases, raised the door of the attic, and looked out afar over the sequestered field and hill and along the dim skyline. I longed for a power of vision, which might overpass that limit and reach the busy world—towns and regions full of life—I had heard of but never seen. I desired more of practical experience than I possessed till now and more of the mingling with my kind and a variety of people than was here within my reach. I valued my work here; I respected the goodness of Adéle, but I also believed there was another kind of existence, and what I believed in, I wished to behold. Many will call me discontented. I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. Then, my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backward and forward, and allow my mind's eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it, and certainly, they were many and glowing. I believed in the tale my imagination created and narrated continuously, with all the life and feeling I desired and which I did not have in my actual existence. It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action, and they will make it if they cannot find it. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions kindle in people. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do. They suffer from too rigid a restraint and too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded of their more privileged fellow creatures to say they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, playing the piano, and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for them. How do the narrator's feelings about women conflict with society's expectations? A. The narrator feels that women need the same experiences as men, while society expects women to limit themselves to domestic pursuits. B. The narrator feels that women should purse the career of their choice, while society expects women to either care for other people or become an author. C. The narrator feels that women need to find a domestic pursuit that makes them happy, while society expects women to do multiple jobs. D. The narrator feels that women should write about their experiences more than men, while society expects women to limit themselves to take care of other people.

A. The narrator feels that women need the same experiences as men, while society expects women to limit themselves to domestic pursuits.

The play Pygmalion begins in Covent Garden, a district in London. In the following excerpt, the character Freddy is looking for a cab for the mother and the daughter, but he cannot find one. from Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw THE MOTHER: You really are very helpless, Freddy. Go again; and don't come back until you have found a cab. FREDDY: I shall simply get soaked for nothing. THE DAUGHTER: And what about us? Are we to stay here all night in this draught, with next to nothing on. You selfish pig— FREDDY: Oh, very well: I'll go, I'll go. [He opens his umbrella and dashes off Strandwards, but comes into collision with a flower girl, who is hurrying in for shelter, knocking her basket out of her hands. A blinding flash of lightning, followed instantly by a rattling peal of thunder, orchestrates the incident] THE FLOWER GIRL: Nah then, Freddy: look wh' y' gowin, deah. FREDDY: Sorry [he rushes off]. THE FLOWER GIRL: [picking up her scattered flowers and replacing them in the basket] There's menners f' yer! Te-oo banches o voylets trod into the mad. [She sits down on the plinth of the column, sorting her flowers, on the lady's right. She is not at all an attractive person. She is perhaps eighteen, perhaps twenty, hardly older. She wears a little sailor hat of black straw that has long been exposed to the dust and soot of London and has seldom if ever been brushed. Her hair needs washing rather badly: its mousy color can hardly be natural. She wears a shoddy black coat that reaches nearly to her knees and is shaped to her waist. She has a brown skirt with a coarse apron. Her boots are much the worse for wear. She is no doubt as clean as she can afford to be; but compared to the ladies she is very dirty. Her features are no worse than theirs; but their condition leaves something to be desired; and she needs the services of a dentist]. THE MOTHER: How do you know that my son's name is Freddy, pray? THE FLOWER GIRL: Ow, eez ye-ooa san, is e? Wal, fewd dan y' de-ooty bawmz a mather should, eed now bettern to spawl a pore gel's flahrzn than ran awy atbaht pyin. Will ye-oo py me f'them? [Here, with apologies, this desperate attempt to represent her dialect without a phonetic alphabet must be abandoned as unintelligible outside London.] THE DAUGHTER: Do nothing of the sort, mother. The idea! THE MOTHER: Please allow me, Clara. Have you any pennies? THE DAUGHTER: No. I've nothing smaller than sixpence. THE FLOWER GIRL: [hopefully] I can give you change for a tanner, kind lady. THE MOTHER: [to Clara] Give it to me. [Clara parts reluctantly]. Now [to the girl] This is for your flowers. THE FLOWER GIRL: Thank you kindly, lady. The dialogue between the mother and the flower girl A. emphasizes the difference in their social classes. B. reveals the authority women have over men. C. explains the need for women to work hard. D. demonstrates the detachment of the upper class.

A. emphasizes the difference in their social classes.

from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens And now that the cloud settled on Saint Antoine, which a momentary gleam had driven from his sacred countenance, the darkness of it was heavy—cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want, were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence—nobles of great power all of them; but, most especially the last. Samples of a people that had undergone a terrible grinding and regrinding in the mill, and certainly not in the fabulous mill which ground old people young, shivered at every corner, passed in and out at every doorway, looked from every window, fluttered in every vestige of a garment that the wind shook. The mill which had worked them down, was the mill that grinds young people old; the children had ancient faces and grave voices; and upon them, and upon the grown faces, and ploughed into every furrow of age and coming up afresh, was the sigh, Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere. Hunger was pushed out of the tall houses, in the wretched clothing that hung upon poles and lines; Hunger was patched into them with straw and rag and wood and paper; Hunger was repeated in every fragment of the small modicum of firewood that the man sawed off; Hunger stared down from the smokeless chimneys, and started up from the filthy street that had no offal, among its refuse, of anything to eat. Hunger was the inscription on the baker's shelves, written in every small loaf of his scanty stock of bad bread; at the sausage-shop, in every dead-dog preparation that was offered for sale. Hunger rattled its dry bones among the roasting chestnuts in the turned cylinder; Hunger was shred into atomics in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil. Commentary A Tale of Two Cities, a novel by Charles Dickens, was published in 1859. The story is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel highlights the distinction between the French aristocracy, who lived a life of wealth and luxury, and the French peasantry, who suffered due to starvation. The terrible plight of the French peasantry led to an uprising against the French aristocracy, and ultimately, the French Revolution. The novel also examines the social life of London during the same period. 5 Based on the excerpt and the commentary, what can one conclude about the state of Paris before the French Revolution? A. Paris was a densely populated city. B. People had to face hunger and hardship. C. People could not find work in the city. D. Potatoes and bread were widely consumed.

B. People had to face hunger and hardship.

Liisi's New Home In the days since she and her family had sailed away from Germany and the refugee camp, Liisi had spent many hours staring out at the ocean waves from the deck. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she had always believed they would return home to Estonia after the war. Yet, every time she had mentioned this to her parents, they just frowned and changed the subject. After they had escaped the Russians and fled to Germany, there had been no real home for them except the cramped apartment in the little German town of Geislingen where the U.S. Army housed Estonian refugees. Liisi had made good friends there—her Girl Scout troop of five had been inseparable—but now they were all scattered to the winds. Two of the girls had stayed in Germany, and the other two were going to Canada. Here she was all alone sailing to America. Feeling mighty lonely, Liisi reached into the inside pocket of her coat and pulled out a photograph. On it was her Girl Scout troop, all dressed in traditional Estonian costumes for a dance they had organized at the refugee camp. The dress Liisi wore was too small, as she had worn it back in Tallinn when she was younger. Liisi ran her thumb over the image of herself and closed her eyes as she remembered. "Liisi, hold still while I button your dress!" Her mother scolded. But Liisi was so eager to join the other kids in Tallinn's town square, she could not stop moving. At 10, she was just old enough to join in the folk dances as the city celebrated Jaanipäev—John's Day, or Midsummer's Eve. The June 23 festival always made her giddy with delight, and as her mother finally released her, she gave her a swift hug and flew out the door. The square was just a few blocks away, and Liisi could hear the cheers of the crowd as she raced down the cobblestone streets. As she rounded the last corner and entered the square, the dancing had already begun. She was so glad she had paid attention when her mom taught her the traditional steps. Making her way to the front of the crowd, Liisi's school friends waved to her. She caught up to them just as the band started playing, and they arranged themselves in a line for the next dance. At that moment, Liisi could not imagine ever living anywhere else. The wind had picked up, and the ocean spray woke Liisi from her reverie. A tear had made its way down her cheek, and she wiped it away before replacing the photo in her pocket. "That was then," she told herself sternly and pushed those other thoughts away. Then, she turned her back to the ocean as if to leave her entire past behind her and went to find her parents. How does Liisi's cultural background affect her perception of the photograph? A. She realizes the difficulty of preserving Estonian traditions in different locations. B. She associates Estonian traditions with a sense of community. C. She appreciates her Estonian friends for more easily understanding her experiences. D. She values maintaining traditions in order to understand Estonian history.

B. She associates Estonian traditions with a sense of community.

Hedda Gabler is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play focuses on Hedda Gabler. She is the daughter of an aristocratic general and has just married Jürgen Tesman, an academic scholar from a lower class. In this excerpt of play, Hedda speaks candidly to Judge Brack, a mutual friend of the couple. from Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen HEDDA: Oh, it was a little episode with Miss Tesman1 this morning. She had laid down her bonnet on the chair there—[Looks at him and smiles.]—and I pretended to think it was the servant's. BRACK: [Shaking his head.] Now my dear Mrs. Hedda, how could you do such a thing? To the excellent old lady, too! HEDDA: [Nervously crossing the room.] Well, you see—these impulses come over me all of a sudden; and I cannot resist them. [Throws herself down in the easy-chair by the stove.] Oh, I don't know how to explain it. BRACK: [Behind the easy-chair.] You are not really happy—that is at the bottom of it. HEDDA: [Looking straight before her.] I know of no reason why I should be—happy. Perhaps you can give me one? BRACK: Well-amongst other things, because you have got exactly the home you had set your heart on. HEDDA: [Looks up at him and laughs.] Do you too believe in that legend? BRACK: Is there nothing in it, then? HEDDA: Oh yes, there is something in it. BRACK: Well? HEDDA: There is this in it, that I made use of Tesman2 to see me home from evening parties last summer— BRACK: I, unfortunately, had to go quite a different way. HEDDA: That's true. I know you were going a different way last summer. BRACK: [Laughing.] Oh fie, Mrs. Hedda! Well, then—you and Tesman—? HEDDA: Well, we happened to pass here one evening; Tesman, poor fellow, was writhing in the agony of having to find conversation; so I took pity on the learned man— BRACK: [Smiles doubtfully.] You took pity? H'm— HEDDA: Yes, I really did. And so—to help him out of his torment—I happened to say, in pure thoughtlessness, that I should like to live in this villa. BRACK: No more than that? HEDDA: Not that evening. BRACK: But afterwards? HEDDA: Yes, my thoughtlessness had consequences, my dear Judge. 1. Aunt Julle, Jürgen Tesman's aunt 2. Jürgen Tesman, Hedda's husband Hedda's dialogue shows A. how much the upper class needed the lower class to survive. B. how the upper class viewed the lower class. C. why people believed that women were inferior to men. D. why women had to marry at an early age.

B. how the upper class viewed the lower class.

Survivor by A. Gautam In 1941, Frederika lived in the ghetto of remote Romania before she was thrown into the concentration camps. She was pressed into labor, like the millions of persecuted Jews. With no means to contact her mother, who had passed away in a labor camp, Frederika cleared the debris of demolished buildings for many days. She likened shoveling to the act of un-burdening. However, the heavy thoughts of death hanging in the walls of the concentration camps did not allow Frederika to feel light. Two years later, Frederika was assigned to burn Russian books. The menial labor of shoveling had only hurt her shoulders and back; the burning of the books wounded Frederika's spirit. With each pile of ash, Frederika loved books even more. She secretly read at nights when the rest of the fellow prisoners were trying to escape the reality of their lives in their dreams. Frederika read Shakespeare and wrote poetry in the small black diary she always carried with her. The language of faraway had soothed her more than the German language she grew up speaking at school. Imagination was Frederika's only friend and solace. Sometimes King Lear appeared in the cramped room and sat near Frederika on her bed. Once, Romeo spoke to her from the top of one of the bunk beds and wooed her. She traveled back in time when Shakespeare was writing plays and was free to create magnificent characters. Till the Red Army arrived to her rescue three years later, Frederika wrote poetry in her black diary. Her prophetic poems had somehow managed to speak of hope and beauty. Based on the passage, choose the statement that best reflects the author's opinion on World War II. A. The war prompted many Russians to destroy all forms of art. B. Shoveling was the most desired labor for all the prisoners. C. Many creative people were forced into labor during the war. D. All of the people in the concentration camps were optimistic.

C. Many creative people were forced into labor during the war.

The following excerpt is from Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre, which describes the difficulties and hardships women faced while pursuing a literary career in Victorian England. Women were expected to be involved in domestic life, and those interested in a job had to be content with the role of a private teacher, or governess. A woman setting out to do anything beyond this was met with disapproval. Charlotte Brontë initially settled for the role of a governess but later challenged these views and chose to become a writer. Her novel Jane Eyre was an instant success, launching her into literary fame. adapted from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Every now and then, I took a walk by myself in the grounds of Thornfield Hall, where I worked, and went down to the gates and looked through them along the road. While Adéle, my student, played with her friends, sometimes, I climbed the three staircases, raised the door of the attic, and looked out afar over the sequestered field and hill and along the dim skyline. I longed for a power of vision, which might overpass that limit and reach the busy world—towns and regions full of life—I had heard of but never seen. I desired more of practical experience than I possessed till now and more of the mingling with my kind and a variety of people than was here within my reach. I valued my work here; I respected the goodness of Adéle, but I also believed there was another kind of existence, and what I believed in, I wished to behold. Many will call me discontented. I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. Then, my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backward and forward, and allow my mind's eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it, and certainly, they were many and glowing. I believed in the tale my imagination created and narrated continuously, with all the life and feeling I desired and which I did not have in my actual existence. It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action, and they will make it if they cannot find it. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions kindle in people. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do. They suffer from too rigid a restraint and too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded of their more privileged fellow creatures to say they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, playing the piano, and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for them. How does the narrator challenge societal norms of her time? A. by showing her anger at her inability to cope with her job demands and responsibilities B. by showing her growing mistrust of the people she meets at her job and their shallow behavior C. by showing her dissatisfaction and by longing for a life of experience and intellectual pursuits D. by showing her uncertainty about her role as governess and negative feelings about Adéle

C. by showing her dissatisfaction and by longing for a life of experience and intellectual pursuits

The novel Les Misérables follows the struggles of many characters in France during the 1800s. In the following excerpt, the author relates the story of Jean Valjean, who was put in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's family. from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo In pruning season [Jean Valjean] earned eighteen sous1 a day; then he hired out as a hay-maker, as laborer, as neat-herd on a farm, as a drudge. He did whatever he could. His sister worked also but what could she do with seven little children? It was a sad group enveloped in misery, which was being gradually annihilated. A very hard winter came. Jean had no work. The family had no bread. No bread literally. Seven children! One Sunday evening, Maubert Isabeau, the baker on the Church Square at Faverolles, was preparing to go to bed, when he heard a violent blow on the grated front of his shop. He arrived in time to see an arm passed through a hole made by a blow from a fist, through the grating and the glass. The arm seized a loaf of bread and carried it off. Isabeau ran out in haste; the robber fled at the full speed of his legs. Isabeau ran after him and stopped him. The thief had flung away the loaf, but his arm was still bleeding. It was Jean Valjean. This took place in 1795. Jean Valjean was taken before the tribunals of the time for theft and breaking and entering an inhabited house at night. He had a gun which he used better than any one else in the world, he was a bit of a poacher, and this injured his case. There exists a legitimate prejudice against poachers. The poacher, like the smuggler, smacks too strongly of the brigand2. Nevertheless, we will remark cursorily, there is still an abyss between these races of men and the hideous assassin of the towns. The poacher lives in the forest, the smuggler lives in the mountains or on the sea. The cities make ferocious men because they make corrupt men. The mountain, the sea, the forest, make savage men; they develop the fierce side, but often without destroying the humane side. Jean Valjean was pronounced guilty. The terms of the Code were explicit. There occur formidable hours in our civilization; there are moments when the penal laws decree a shipwreck. What an ominous minute is that in which society draws back and consummates3 the irreparable abandonment of a sentient4 being! Jean Valjean was condemned to five years in the galleys. 1. a coin that is worth 5 centime 2. a robber 3. to bring something to completion 4. conscious The narrator expresses A. the need for more people to be in law enforcement. B. how the laws protected children from harm. C. the unfairness of the criminal-justice system. D. how men were treated differently from women.

C. the unfairness of the criminal-justice system.

My Sioux Pride From the Trail of Tears To the tale of the Wounded Knee I have lived the history of my elders The age-old, silent fears I look toward the sky And the earth that is always mine All is not lost, I remember We can be us and shine My braided, parted hair And wooden flute will sing Till the soil will grow new plants Oh, let the music ring Based on this poem, Native Americans A. respect independence. B. lack an affinity for music. C. have a close-knit family. D. feel close to nature.

D. feel close to nature.

from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas "Come in," said Louis XVIII., with repressed smile, "come in, Baron, and tell the duke all you know—the latest news of M. de Bonaparte; do not conceal anything, however serious,—let us see, the Island of Elba is a volcano, and we may expect to have issuing thence flaming and bristling war—bella, horrida bella." M. Dandre leaned very respectfully on the back of a chair with his two hands, and said,— "Has your majesty perused yesterday's report?" "Yes, yes; but tell the duke himself, who cannot find anything, what the report contains—give him the particulars of what [Bonaparte] is doing in his islet." "Monsieur," said the baron to the duke, "all the servants of his majesty must approve of the latest intelligence which we have from the Island of Elba. Bonaparte"—M. Dandre looked at Louis XVIII., who, employed in writing a note, did not even raise his head. "Bonaparte," continued the baron, "is mortally wearied, and passes whole days in watching his miners at work at Porto-Longone." "And scratches himself for amusement," added the king. "Scratches himself?" inquired the duke, "what does your majesty mean?" "Yes, indeed, my dear duke. Did you forget that this great man, this hero, this demigod, is attacked with a malady of the skin which worries him to death, prurigo?" "And, moreover, my dear duke," continued the minister of police, "we are almost assured that, in a very short time, [Bonaparte] will be insane." "Insane?" "Raving mad; his head becomes weaker. Sometimes he weeps bitterly, sometimes laughs boisterously, at other time he passes hours on the seashore, flinging stones in the water and when the flint makes 'duck-and-drake' five or six times, he appears as delighted as if he had gained another Marengo or Austerlitz. Now, you must agree that these are indubitable symptoms of insanity." Based on the excerpt above, Dumas' work was influenced by the A. history and geography of volcanic islands. B. study of skin diseases that cause itchiness. C. relationship of Louis XVIII and his subjects. D. military conquests of Napoleon Bonaparte.

D. military conquests of Napoleon Bonaparte.