American Literature Clep Test
B. Out of horror at learning his mother's identity
In East of Eden, why does Aron join the Army? A. Out of a patriotic desire to serve his country B. Out of horror at learning his mother's identity C. Because his father wants him to D. Because he cannot find any other job
B. "Rinehart"
In Invisible Man, for whom do people mistake the narrator when he dons dark glasses? A. "Wilman" B. "Rinehart" C. "Castlerock" D. "Johnson"
A. Stanford
In East of Eden, where does Aron go to college? A. Stanford B. Berkeley C. Harvard D. Dartmouth
D. Olive Hamilton
In East of Eden, which character was Steinbeck's mother in real life? A. Cathy Ames B. Abra Bacon C. Dessie Hamilton D. Olive Hamilton
C. Monopolated Light & Power
In Invisible Man, from what company does the narrator steal electricity? A. The Standardized Light & Power Co. B. Pacific Gas C. Monopolated Light & Power D. The New York Energy Authority
Margaret Fuller
This American author's works dramatically influenced the women's rights movement.
A. A coffin
In Moby Dick, what keeps Ishmael afloat after the Pequod sinks? A. A coffin B. A barrel of oil C. A lifeboat D. A mattress
B. Nantucket
In Moby Dick, where does Ishmael want to go to find a berth on a whaling ship? A. Boston B. Nantucket C. New Bedford D. New York
D. Jonah
In Moby Dick, which biblical figure is the focus of Father Mapple's sermon? A. Job B. Solomon C. Isaiah D. Jonah
A. His leg
In Moby Dick, which body part has Ahab lost to Moby Dick? A. His leg B. His arm C. His eye D. His fingers
B. Pip
In Moby Dick, which of the following characters falls overboard and goes insane as a result? A. Tashtego B. Pip C. Queequeg D. Starbuck
D. None of the above
In Moby Dick, which of the following characters survives the Pequod's sinking? A. Pip B. Ahab C. Flask D. None of the above
D. Bildad and Peleg
In Moby Dick, who owns the Pequod? A. Father Mapple B. Captain Ahab C. The town of Nantucket D. Bildad and Peleg
D. Queequeg
In Moby Dick, who rescues Tashtego when he falls overboard inside the whale's head? A. Ishmael B. Stubb C. Fedallah D. Queequeg
B. His harpoon
In Moby Dick, with what does Queequeg sleep? A. The statue of his god B. His harpoon C. A cat D. A bottle of rum
A. Sperm whale teeth
In Moby Dick, with what is the Pequod adorned? A. Sperm whale teeth B. American flags C. Red paint D. Whale fins
D. Queequeg
In Moby Dick, with which of the following characters does Ishmael share a bed at the Spouter-Inn? A. Starbuck B. Fedallah C. Bildad D. Queequeg
Ray Bradbury
Who wrote Fahrenheit 451?
James Baldwin
Who wrote Go Tell it on the Mountain?
Margaret Mitchell
Who wrote Gone with the Wind?
Wallace Stevens
Who wrote Harmonium?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
Ralph Ellison
Who wrote Invisible Man?
Walt Whitman
Who wrote Leaves of Grass?
Louisa May Alcott
Who wrote Little Women?
Sinclair Lewis
Who wrote Main Street?
Frank Norris
Who wrote McTeague?
Herman Melville
Who wrote Moby Dick?
Willa Cather
Who wrote My Antonia?
Frederick Douglass
Who wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?
James Baldwin
Who wrote Nobody Knows My Name?
James Baldwin
Who wrote Notes to a Native Son?
Ken Kesey
Who wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
Kurt Vonnegut
Who wrote Slaughterhouse Five?
Kate Chopin
Who wrote The Awakening?
Sylvia Plath
Who wrote The Bell Jar?
Jack London
Who wrote The Call of the Wild?
J.D. Salinger
Who wrote The Catcher in the Rye?
Ayn Rand
Who wrote The Fountainhead?
John Steinbeck
Who wrote The Grapes of Wrath?
Carson McCullers
Who wrote The Heart is a Lonely Hunter?
Upton Sinclair
Who wrote The Jungle?
Earnest Hemingway
Who wrote The Sun Also Rises?
Anne Bradstreet
Who wrote The Tenth Muse?
L. Frank Baum
Who wrote The Wizard of Oz?
Zora Neale Hurston
Who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Who wrote This Side of Paradise?
Harper Lee
Who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird?
Anne Bradstreet
Who wrote To My Dear and Loving Husband?
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin?
Henry David Thoreau
Who wrote Walden?
Jack London
Who wrote White Fang?
Sherwood Anderson
Who wrote Winesburg, Ohio?
Theodore Dreiser
Who wrote an American Tragedy?
John Greenleaf Whittier
Who wrote the poem "Snow Bound"?
T.S. Eliot
- Love song of J. Alfred prufrock: stream of consciousness, dramatic poetry - The Waste Land : modernist between satire and prophecy
The Sun Also Rises
A 1926 novel about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received mixed reviews upon publication. On the surface, the novel is a love story between the protagonist Jake Barnes—a man whose war wound has made him impotent—and the promiscuous divorcée usually identified as Lady Brett Ashley. Barnes is an expatriate American journalist living in Paris, while Brett is a twice-divorced Englishwoman with bobbed hair and numerous love affairs, and embodies the new sexual freedom of the 1920s. Brett's affair with Robert Cohn causes Jake to be upset and break off his friendship with Cohn; her seduction of the 19-year-old matador Romero causes Jake to lose his good reputation among the Spaniards in Pamplona.
Walt Whitman
A 19th century poet who was famous for his patriotism and his love of democracy. A collection of his poems was published and called "Leaves of Grass." Some of his most famous poems include "I", "Song of Myself", and "O Captain! My Captain!"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A 19th century poet, speaker, philosopher, and critic. His works are believed to have influenced many noble writers such as Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Henry David Thoreau. This man was a leader of the Transcendentalist movement which believed that reason and knowledge derived from the spirit and emotion, and that experience wasn't the true way to gain knowledge.
Henry David Thoreau
A transcendentalist author who studied under Ralph Waldo Emerson. He strongly believed that people should be free to act without government interference, and supported civil disobedience when a person felt that a law was unjust. For a time, he moved to Walden Pond where he built a home and lived completely alone for two years.
Frances Wright
A female lecturer in the 18th century who spoke out for women's rights and independence. She encouraged birth control, divorces, and abolition of slavery. She also worked editing New Harmony's "Gazette."
Willa Cather
A female writer in the early 19th century. Her most famous work is My Antonia. Many of her works contained strong female characters, which was not typical of the time. She was critical of increasing materialism in the world and held to traditional values.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A female writer in the early 20th century. Her most famous work was The Yellow Wallpaper which criticized the restrictions of a domestic lifestyle for women.
Anne Bradstreet
A female writer in the late 17th century. She wrote about colonial life and her view on science and religion.
Stanza
A group of lines in a poem.
Kate Chopin
A late 19th century writer who was famous for her book "Awakening." The book focuses on the restrictions placed on wives and mothers of that time. The majority of the books focuses on the "awakening" of the main character as she discovers a love for independence and dissatisfaction with her husband. She ends up committing adultery, a fact for which the book was rather criticized.
Stephen Crane
A late 19th century writer who was most famous for his books "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" and "Red Badge of Courage."
Epic
A long, narrative poem that tells a story (ex. Beowulf)
Naive narrator
A narrator that does not understand the conflicts or complications about the story he is telling. But the reader may see through foreshadowing, that two people are about to hit together like a train wreck.
Unreliable narrator
A narrator that is mentally unstable or deranged.
Limerick
A nonsense poem, with five lines. Lines 1 and 2 rhyme, 3 and 4 rhyme, and line 5 rhymes with line 1.
Free verse
A poem in whatever format you want.
Haiku
A poem that is 17 syllables long, unrhymed, with three lines total in this order: five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables.
Elegy
A poem that memorializes someone.
Leaves of Grass
A poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892). Though the first edition was published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and re-writing Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first a small book of twelve poems and the last a compilation of over 400.
Anti-hero
A protagonist that does not have what it takes to make him a hero. He is lacking in some way.
Sonnet
A rhymed, metered poem which is 14 lines long.
The Purloined Letter
A short story by Edgar Allen Poe. In the story, an important letter is stolen, and though the police know who took it, they cannot prove anything unless the letter is found. After the police have searched extensively, a reward is offered. The letter is found to have been hidden in plain sight on the mantel. The reason the police could not find it was because they were expecting it to be hidden.
Initiation story
A story where the main character goes through "rites of initiation" such as getting a driver's license, first date, getting married, etc.
Maya Angelou
A writer, poet, and performer of the late 20th century. Her first, and most famous, book is called "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and was published in 1970. Many of her works focus on issues of perseverance and womanhood.
C. Stephen Crane
All of the following authors are realists except: A. Henry James B. Willian Dean Howells C. Stephen Crane D. Mark Twain E. Upton Sinclair
D. Maya Angelou
All of these authors are famous naturalist writers except: A. Frank Norris B. Stephen Crane C. John Steinbeck D. Maya Angelou E. Theodore Dreiser
Toni Morrison
An African American author who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993. Her book "Beloved" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Some of her other most famous books are "Song of Solomon," "The Bluest Eye," and "Tar Baby." Her works tend to focus on race and gender issues.
James Baldwin
An African American writer in the 20th century who focused on themes of racial issues and sexual identity.
Thomas Wolfe
An American novelist of the early twentieth century. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing. His books, written and published from the 1920s to the 1940s, vividly reflect on American culture and the mores of that period. Notable works include: - Look Homeward, Angel - Of Time and the River - You Can't Go Home Again - The Web and the Rock
Thornton Wilder
An American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes—for the novel "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" and for the two plays "Our Town" and "The Skin of Our Teeth" — and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel "The Eighth Day."
Walt Whitman
An American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. He is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Maya Angelou
An American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. Another one of her notable works is "On the Pulse of Morning"
Ralph Ellison
An african american author who became most famous for his novel The Invisible Man.
Stream of consciousness
An unedited view of the speaker's mind. Something that flows freely.
Fiction
Any story that is written in which the characters are not real. This refers to both short stories and longer forms such as the novel.
Robinson Jeffers
Author of the following works: - The Tower Beyond Tragedy - Tamar - Roan Stallion
Edgar Allen Poe
Considered to be one of the most influential American writers. He is famous for his haunting style, horror stories, and other unique works. He is also well known for his many short stories. Some of his most famous works are "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Raven," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Modernist Period
Era in American literature that began during the Roaring 20s. Americans were experiencing more upbeat moods again, and there was a surge in personal and professional success.
Romanticism
Era in American literature that began to concentrate on higher order matters. Sought to understand how nature, God, and man all related to each other. (Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are well known writer of this period)
Emily Dickinson
Famous as the recluse dressed in white- rejected joining the church she grew up in when she was young - Experimented with form and structure in her poetry - Influenced by Lydia Maria Child
B. Staring at him
In A Death in the Family, for what does Father Jackson chide Little Catherine and Rufus? A. Laughing at him B. Staring at him C. Pointing at him D. Singing to him
Six
In A Death in the Family, how old is Rufus when his father dies? A. Four B. Five C. Six D. Seven
A. His name
In A Death in the Family, what do the schoolchildren tease Rufus about? A. His name B. His clothes C. His hair D. His lisp
A butterfly
In A Death in the Family, what does Andrew see on Jay's coffin at the end of the story? A. A moth B. A butterfly C. A bird D. A dragonfly
A cap
In A Death in the Family, what does Aunt Hannah buy for Rufus? A. Socks B. Mittens C. A pipe D. A cap
Brag
In A Death in the Family, what does Jay tell Rufus never to do? A. Lie B. Cheat C. Steal D. Brag
D. That she smells good
In A Death in the Family, what does Mary tell Rufus that he must never tell Victoria? A. That her skin is dark B. That her nose looks funny C. That her voice is strange D. That she smells good
D. An attack by wild dogs
In Call of the Wild, what event intervenes to stop a fight between Buck and Spitz? A. An avalanche B. An attack by Indians C. A flash flood D. An attack by wild dogs
B. He lets them watch the funeral procession
In A Death in the Family, what does Walter let Rufus and little Catherine do, unbeknownst to anyone? A. He lets them stay up past their bedtime B. He lets them watch the funeral procession C. He lets them eat lots of cookies D. He lets them come to his house instead of seeing their father one last time
C. Mary
In A Death in the Family, which of the following characters is deeply religious? A. Joel B. Andrew C. Mary D. None of the above
D. All of the above
In A Death in the Family, why does Ralph tell Jay that it is urgent that he come over? A. Because he is weak B. Because he is drunk C. Because he has misjudged the severity of the situation D. All of the above
C. Cholera
In A Farewell to Arms, at the beginning of the novel, Henry reports that seven thousand soldiers have died due to what? A. Venereal disease B. The most recent enemy attack C. Cholera D. Starvation
D. A St. Anthony medal
In A Farewell to Arms, before Henry heads off to the front at Pavla, what does Catherine give him? A. The toy riding crop once owned by her fiancé B. A bottle of grappa C. A love letter D. A St. Anthony medal
B. To get food for his drivers
In A Farewell to Arms, before the trench mortar wounds him, why does Henry leave the dugout? A. To rescue one of his ambulance drivers who is stranded outside the dugout. B. To get food for his drivers C. To prove to his men that he is brave D. He is about to abandon his troops but then changes his mind.
A. She tells him that she is pregnant.
In A Farewell to Arms, how does Catherine respond to the news that Henry has received three weeks of convalescent leave? A. She tells him that she is pregnant. B. She screams that she never wants to see him again. C. She sobs for fear that he will lose his life if he returns to war. D. She seduces him and they make love.
B. She becomes frazzled because she cannot arrange a room for him without a doctor's orders.
In A Farewell to Arms, how does Mrs. Walker greet Henry upon his arrival at the American hospital in Milan? A. She tells him that she resents American boys fighting for foreign armies. B. She becomes frazzled because she cannot arrange a room for him without a doctor's orders. C. She sympathizes with him over his difficult train ride. D. She takes his temperature.
B. Drop all discussion about the war
In A Farewell to Arms, immediately before Henry kisses Catherine for the first time, they make a pact to do what? A. Keep their affair a secret from Rinaldi and Miss Ferguson B. Drop all discussion about the war C. Love each other always D. Meet the coming battle bravely
C. He shoots at them.
In A Farewell to Arms, what does Henry do when the engineering sergeants in Aymo's car refuse to help rescue the vehicle from the mud? A. He shrugs and lets them go. B. He orders Bonello and Aymo to beat them up. C. He shoots at them. D. He delivers a powerful speech about cowardice.
D. Dr. Valentini
In A Farewell to Arms, what is the name of the good-natured doctor who agrees to operate on Henry's leg? A. Dr. Gorizia B. Dr. Influenza C. Dr. Pavla D. Dr. Valentini
B. The horse has been dyed a different color.
In A Farewell to Arms, why does Catherine decide to bet on a certain horse in a race that she believes has been fixed? A. The horse limps. B. The horse has been dyed a different color. C. The horse is obviously much younger than the other horses. D. The horse has the best jockey.
B. He mistakes Henry for an Austrian soldier.
In A Farewell to Arms, why does the barber who comes to shave Henry almost kill him? A. He desperately wants to end the war and believes that killing an officer will make that happen. B. He mistakes Henry for an Austrian soldier. C. He is crazy. D. Henry resembles the man's son, who was killed earlier in the war.
C. The camp has been attacked by Yeehat Indians
In Call of the Wild, What does Buck find when he returns from hunting? A. The camp has burned B. John Thornton has abandoned him and returned to Dawson. C. The camp has been attacked by Yeehat Indians D. Nothing is amiss
D. When Thornton gets caught in the rapids, Buck swims to him and pulls him to safety
In Call of the Wild, how does Buck save John Thornton's life? A. Buck kills a man who is about to shoot Thornton B. Buck fends off attacking Yeehat Indians C. Buck pulls his master back when Thornton is about to fall off a cliff. D. When Thornton gets caught in the rapids, Buck swims to him and pulls him to safety
C. He prevents Hal from beating him to death
In Call of the Wild, how does John Thornton save Buck's life? A. He shoots Hal and Charles B. He pulls him out of the river when the ice breaks C. He prevents Hal from beating him to death D. He goes to Dawson to get medicine for Buck's illness
B. That Buck can move a sled loaded with a thousand pounds.
In Call of the Wild, what bet does Thornton win with Matthewson? A. That Buck can outrun a train. B. That Buck can move a sled loaded with a thousand pounds. C. That Buck will do anything Thornton orders him to do. D. That Buck can find a buried treasure.
C. That he be made the lead dog
In Call of the Wild, what does Buck demand after Spitz's death? A. More food B. Less work C. That he be made the lead dog D. That he be allowed to run wild
D. He joins a wolf pack and becomes a legendary figure in the wild
In Call of the Wild, what does Buck do at the end of the novel? A. He drowns B. He goes mad and is killed by John Thornton C. He is killed by wolves D. He joins a wolf pack and becomes a legendary figure in the wild
C. He leaps at the throat of Thornton's assailant
In Call of the Wild, what does Buck do when Thornton gets into a bar fight? A. He cowers under the bar B. He drags Thornton outside by the collar C. He leaps at the throat of Thornton's assailant D. He runs to find the police
D. Riding on the sled herself
In Call of the Wild, what does Mercedes insist on doing that slows the sled down? A. Stopping frequently to feed the dogs B. Taking shortcuts over patches of dirt C. Buying fewer dogs D. Riding on the sled herself
A. A wild chase after a rabbit
In Call of the Wild, what event brings about the final confrontation between Buck and Spitz? A. A wild chase after a rabbit B. A dispute over some food C. A fire in the camp D. The death of Billee
B. Their sled and team breaks through the ice and they drown
In Call of the Wild, what happens to Hal, Charles, and Mercedes after they leave John Thornton's? A. They reach Dawson unscathed B. Their sled and team breaks through the ice and they drown C. They are ambushed by Yeehat Indians D. They die of starvation
A. He is killed by Indians
In Call of the Wild, what happens to John Thornton? A. He is killed by Indians B. He is lost in a blizzard and freezes to death C. He dies of hunger D. He lives to a ripe old age in Nome
A. They begin to die of starvation
In Call of the Wild, what happens to the dogs during Hal and Charles's trip to Dawson? A. They begin to die of starvation B. They make record time C. They break their harnesses and escape into the woods D. They begin to attack one another
A. A dog, half St. Bernard and half Scottish shepherd
In Call of the Wild, what is Buck? A. A dog, half St. Bernard and half Scottish shepherd B. A young gold hunter C. An Arabian stallion D. An Alaskan wolf
B. Judge Miller
In Call of the Wild, what is the name of Buck's first master? A. John Thornton B. Judge Miller C. Manuel D. Mercedes
C. Mail carriers
In Call of the Wild, what is the profession of Francois and Perrault? A. Gold hunters B. Dog trainers C. Mail carriers D. Fur traders
B. A moose
In Call of the Wild, what kind of animal does Buck spend four days hunting? A. A mountain lion B. A moose C. A polar bear D. A wolf
A. The search for a legendary lost mine
In Call of the Wild, what quest sends Thornton and his friends into the wilderness? A. The search for a legendary lost mine B. The search for Thornton's missing brother C. The search for the Northwest Passage D. The search for a lost tribe of Indians
C. The Santa Clara Valley, in California
In Call of the Wild, where does Buck live at the beginning of the novel? A. Nome, Alaska B. Vermont C. The Santa Clara Valley, in California D. Flagstaff, Arizona
A. Curly
In Call of the Wild, which dog gets killed immediately upon her arrival in the North? A. Curly B. Spitz C. Mercedes D. Koona
D. He spends long periods of time in the deep forest, making contact with wolves
In Call of the Wild, while the men camp and look for gold, what does Buck do? A. He scouts for hostile Indians B. He returns to Dawson carrying messages C. He sleeps all day D. He spends long periods of time in the deep forest, making contact with wolves
B. Hal and Charles
In Call of the Wild, who buys Buck and the other dogs when they are sold by the mail company? A. John Thornton B. Hal and Charles C. Judge Miller D. Matthewson
B. Spitz
In Call of the Wild, who is Buck's great rival on the team of dogs? A. Teeka B. Spitz C. Koona D. Sol-leks
D. Manuel, a gardener
In Call of the Wild, who kidnaps Buck from his home? A. Hal and Charles B. Yeehat Indians C. Judge Miller D. Manuel, a gardener
C. "Thou mayest"
In East of Eden, according to Lee, what does the Hebrew word timshel mean? A. "Thou shalt" B. "Do thou" C. "Thou mayest" D. "Thou art not"
C. Jealousy
In East of Eden, according to the original biblical story, what motivates Cain to kill Abel? A. Greed B. Ambition C. Jealousy D. Nothing; Cain kills Abel by mistake
A. She burns down their house
In East of Eden, how does Cathy kill her parents? A. She burns down their house B. She poisons them C. She shoots them D. She drowns them
C. He is disgusted
In East of Eden, how does Charles react when he learns that Adam and Cathy have married? A. He is overjoyed B. He is jealous C. He is disgusted D. He is indifferent
D. Refrigeration
In East of Eden, in what kind of business does Adam lose his fortune? A. Mining B. Cattle C. Construction D. Refrigeration
C. World War I
In East of Eden, in what war is Aron killed? A. The Civil War B. The Spanish-American War C. World War I D. World War II
C. The Salinas Valley
In East of Eden, in which region of California does most of East of Eden take place? A. The San Fernando Valley B. The San Joaquin Valley C. The Salinas Valley D. The Owens Valley
A. Aron
In East of Eden, to whom does Cathy leave all her wealth when she dies? A. Aron B. Cal C. Adam D. Charles
D. A vial filled with grains of morphine
In East of Eden, toward the end of the novel, what does Cathy wear around her neck? A. A locket containing Aron's picture B. A string of black pearls C. A red velvet ribbon D. A vial filled with grains of morphine
D. He burns it
In East of Eden, what does Cal ultimately do with the $15,000 that was meant to be a gift to his father? A. He keeps it B. He gives it to charity C. He uses it to start a business D. He burns it
D. She bites him
In East of Eden, what does Cathy do when Samuel tries to help her deliver her babies? A. She thanks him B. She passes out C. She asks him to fetch Liza instead D. She bites him
B. There is a discrepancy between two different translations of the story
In East of Eden, what puzzles Lee about the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible? A. He does not understand Cain's motivation for killing Abel B. There is a discrepancy between two different translations of the story C. He wonders why God punishes Cain so harshly D. He is curious where the garden of Eden might have been located
B. The struggle between good and evil
In East of Eden, what, according to the narrator, is the one recurring story in human history? A. The conflict among the generations B. The struggle between good and evil C. The search for the meaning of life D. The struggle of the poor
A. By giving him letters of condemnation instead of recommendation
In Invisible Man, how does Dr. Bledsoe betray the narrator? A. By giving him letters of condemnation instead of recommendation B. By arranging to have him fired from Liberty Paints C. By seducing Alice D. By telling the Brotherhood about the narrator's eulogy for Clifton
A. 1,369
In Invisible Man, how many light bulbs does the narrator have burning in his underground room? A. 1,369 B. 1,863 C. 1,492 D. 1,603
D. A scholarship to college
In Invisible Man, in Chapter 1, what do the white men give the narrator after his speech? A. A hundred-dollar bill B. A new jacket C. A job D. A scholarship to college
A. Incest
In Invisible Man, of what sin is Jim Trueblood guilty? A. Incest B. Murder C. Greed D. Theft
D. The rug is electrified.
In Invisible Man, what hinders the narrator and the other boys from collecting the money off of the rug after the "battle royal"? A. They are wearing blindfolds and thus cannot see. B. The coins and bills are glued to the rug. C. The rug is guarded by white men with guns. D. The rug is electrified.
D. He rejects it fiercely and repeatedly.
In Invisible Man, what is Ellison's attitude toward Booker T. Washington's philosophy of race relations? A. He embraces it wholeheartedly. B. He advocates it with some reservations. C. He regards it with ambivalence. D. He rejects it fiercely and repeatedly.
B. Optic White
In Invisible Man, what is the best-selling color at Liberty Paints? A. Regal Blue B. Optic White C. Blood Red D. Burnt Sienna
B. "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," by Louis Armstrong
In Invisible Man, what jazz recording does the narrator describe in the Prologue? A. "Dippermouth Blues," by King Oliver B. "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue," by Louis Armstrong C. "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say," by Jelly Roll Morton "Barnyard Blues," by the Original Dixieland Jazz BandD.
B. In his briefcase
In Invisible Man, when the narrator smashes a racially offensive coin bank, where does he stash the pieces? A. In a well B. In his briefcase C. In his safe-deposit box D. In an underground vault
A. In a boxing arena
In Invisible Man, where does the narrator give his first speech for the Brotherhood? A. In a boxing arena B. At the Harlem Meer C. At Madison Square Garden D. In front of a stable
D. Brother Jack
In Invisible Man, which member of the Brotherhood offers the narrator a place in the organization? A. Brother Wrestrum B. Brother Tarp C. Brother Clifton D. Brother Jack
D. Ras the Exhorter
In Invisible Man, who incites the riot in Harlem? A. The narrator B. Brother Wrestrum C. Brother Hambro D. Ras the Exhorter
C. The police
In Invisible Man, who kills Tod Clifton? A. Ras B. The narrator C. The police D. The Brotherhood's henchmen
D. For taking one of the founders to a nearby black tavern
In Invisible Man, why is the narrator expelled from college? A. For cheating on his chemistry test B. For punching a white man who taunted him C. For his heavy marijuana use D. For taking one of the founders to a nearby black tavern
D. All of the above
In Moby Dick, Ahab's mates include A. Starbuck B. Stubb C. Flask D. All of the above
B. A vanished tribe of Native Americans
In Moby Dick, after what is Ahab's ship named? A. Its owner B. A vanished tribe of Native Americans C. A species of whale D. A biblical character
A. Oil
In Moby Dick, for what were whales primarily hunted? A. Oil B. Skin C. Meat D. Fins
A. A whale's jawbone
In Moby Dick, from what is Ahab's false leg made? A. A whale's jawbone B. Wood C. An elephant's tusk D. Leather
A. She is rammed by Moby Dick.
In Moby Dick, how does the Pequod sink? A. She is rammed by Moby Dick. B. She is overloaded with oil. C. She gets lost in a storm. D. She is rammed by another ship.
B. His hair
In Moby Dick, out of what is Fedallah's turban made? A. Whale skin B. His hair C. Silk from China D. Dried seaweed
B. Tattoos
In Moby Dick, what covers Queequeg's skin? A. Scars B. Tattoos C. Hair D. Blisters
A. A gold coin
In Moby Dick, what does Ahab nail to the ship's mast to motivate his crew in his quest for Moby Dick? A. A gold coin B. A severed head C. A drawing of Moby Dick D. A pirate flag
B. Himself
In Moby Dick, what does Ahab see when he studies the gold doubloon nailed to the mast? A. Moby Dick B. Himself C. God D. The face of Evil
C. The dimensions of a whale
In Moby Dick, what does Ishmael have tattooed on his forearm? A. A naked woman B. A spouting whale C. The dimensions of a whale D. A passage from the Book of Job
B. Spouts
In Moby Dick, what does the crew look for to indicate the presence of a whale? A. Fins B. Spouts C. Seabirds D. Lightning
C. The whiteness of the whale
In Moby Dick, what frightens Ishmael the most about Moby Dick? A. The whale's size B. The whale's teeth C. The whiteness of the whale D. The sounds that the whale makes
D. The study of whales
In Moby Dick, what is cetology? A. The skill of navigation B. The study of old manuscripts C. The process used to render oil out of a whale D. The study of whales
D. The Pequod
In Moby Dick, what is the name of Ahab's ship? A. The Town-Ho B. The Rachel C. The Samuel Enderby D. The Pequod
The Catcher in the Rye
In this book, Holden opens the novel by telling a story that happened to him last Christmas. He has been expelled from his fourth boarding school, the people around him are all phonies, and he needs to kill a few days before going home to tell his parents the bad news about school. Holden becomes increasingly manic. His brother Allie passed away from Leukemia three years before, and it seems that Holden has unresolved guilt and complicated grief over Allie's passing. He spends a few days in New York, trying to find a way to belong, but ends up isolating himself more. After being punched by a pimp named Maurice, Holden goes on a date where he expresses he just wants to run away. His date, Sally, doesn't take it well, and Holden starts to unravel even more. He goes home to visit Phoebe, where he tells her he wants to be a "____________" ; metaphorically, he wants to save children from losing their innocence. After spending the night in Grand Central Station, Holden decides he's going to hitchhike out West. He leaves a note for Phoebe at her school to meet him at the museum. She shows up with her suitcase; she's going with him. Holden won't let her, and Phoebe gets upset. Phoebe and Holden go to the zoo and then a park, where Holden buys her a ticket to ride on the carousel. As she rides around, he sits on a bench in the falling rain and watches her, finally bursting into tears. Holden returns to the present, revealing he's in some sort of medical institution. He's been evaluated, and his doctors are planning on sending him back to school in September. Holden finds that he misses a lot of people, including those he called "phonies".
Main Street
In this novel, Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited young woman, reared in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the state capital. She marries Will Kennicott, a doctor, who is a small-town boy at heart. When they marry, Will convinces her to live in his home-town of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, a town modeled on Sauk Centre, Minnesota, the author's birthplace. Carol is appalled at the backwardness of Gopher Prairie. But her disdain for the town's physical ugliness and smug conservatism compels her to reform it. She speaks with its members about progressive changes, joins women's clubs, distributes literature, and holds parties to liven up Gopher Prairie's inhabitants. Despite her friendly but ineffective efforts, she is constantly derided by the leading cliques. She finds comfort and companionship outside her social class, but these companions are taken from her one by one. In her unhappiness, Carol leaves her husband and moves for a time to Washington, D.C., but she eventually returns. Nevertheless, Carol does not feel defeated
The House of Seven Gables
In this story, Colonel Pyncheon refuses to build his home anywhere but on Matthew Maule's property. To obtain his desire, he sees that Maule is wrongly executed for witchcraft and in revenge Maule proclaims a curse on Pyncheon. The story follows Colonel Pyncheon's descendants and the events that return the property to the hands of Maule's descendants.
Little Women
In this story, Josephine March and her three sisters Margaret, Amy, and Beth grow up with their mother's guidance while their father fights in the American Civil War. The vivacious quartet are very close and happy despite limited means. Laurie Laurence, the well off boy next door, takes a liking to Jo, and his tutor John Brooke eyes older sister Margaret during a party. Margaret marries Mr. Brooke but Jo rejects Laurie's proposal and moves to New York for new adventures. When Beth starts to lose her battle with Scarlet Fever Jo returns to her deathbed. Sister Amy returns married to Jo's one true love, Laurie, and we wonder if she will ever find someone to replace him.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
In this story, the narrator is sent to visit Simon Wheeler, an acquaintance of a friend, and find a friend named Leonidas Smiley. When the narrator finds Wheeler however, he knows only of a man named Jim Smiley. He tells the story of Jim Smiley who once trained a frog, which he named Dan'l Webster, to jump higher than any other. However, after making a bet, he is cheated out of $40 when the other man dumps shot down the frog's throat. The narrator realizes that he is getting nowhere with Wheeler and leaves.
The Awakening
In this story, the protagonist Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an autonomous human being and rebels against social norms by leaving her husband Leónce and having an affair. The first half of the novel takes place in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. Over the summer it is inhabited by upper-class Creole families from New Orleans who go there to escape from the heat and to relax by the ocean. During the week, the women and children stay on the island, while the men return to the city to work. During the summer, Edna Pontellier meets a young gallant named Robert Lebrun, whose mother rents out the cottages on the island. The two spend almost all their time together, and Edna greatly enjoys his company, especially since her husband is generally preoccupied with business. Due to Robert's constant presence, Edna starts to experience a change within herself: she begins to develop a sense of herself as a whole person, with unique wants, interests, and desires. She realizes that she is not content to be simply a wife and a mother, and she begins to assert herself to her husband.
Hart Crane
Literary critics have said that this modernist writer sympathized with the Negro experience.
Third person narrator
Narrator that is not a participant in the story. He reports events such as "she cried all night."
Powerless
Naturalists would say that human beings are __________ in the face of all the world's forces that affect them.
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
One of Edgar Allen Poe's works. It is considered to be the first modern detective story ever written. Many believe that the main character C. Auguste Dupin to have been the influence for Sherlock Holmes.
Exposition, Rising action, Crisis, Resolution
Outline for a basic short story.
Langston Hughes
Poet known for jazz poetry. - "The Weary Blues"
Carl Sandburg
Poet who was best known for his poetry about Chicago, also wrote biographies about Abraham Lincoln.
Tennessee Williams
Poet who wrote the following poems: - A streetcar named desire - The glass menagerie - Cat on a hot Tin roof - Night of the Iguana - the Rose tattoo
William Carlos Williams
Poet; modernism and imagism ; he was also a doctor- came up with the idea of the variable foot. Some of his best-known poems are published in a collection entitled Sour Grapes. - Also wrote "The Red Wheelbarrow"
This Side of Paradise
Published in 1920, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive Princeton University student who dabbles in literature. The novel explores the theme of love warped by greed and status seeking.
Realism and Naturalism
Replaced the period of Romanticism. Era in American literature that focused more on what could be proven. The civil war had just ended, and so the country was in a time of change. Especially in the South, the mood was very somber., People put more stock in what was tangible.
The Song of the Lark
Set in the 1890s in Moonstone, a fictional town in Colorado, this story is the self-portrait of an artist in the making. The ambitious young heroine, Thea Kronborg leaves her hometown to go to Chicago to fulfill her dream of becoming a well-trained pianist, a better piano teacher. When her instructor hears her voice, he realizes that this is her true artistic gift. He encourages her to pursue her vocal training instead of piano saying ... "your voice is worth all that you can put into it. I have not come to this decision rashly." [Part II; Chapter 7] In that pursuit she travels to Dresden, then to New York City, singing operas. Her reference for life is always her home town and the people she encountered there. The novel captures Thea's independent-mindedness, her strong work ethic, and her ascent to her highest achievement. At each step along the way, her realization of the mediocrity of her peers propels her to greater levels of accomplishment, but in the course of her ascent she must discard those relationships which no longer serve her.
Tale
Similar in meaning to "fiction"; sometimes described as a "telling-tale."
Fable
Similar to parable, it is a brief story that points to a moral. It usually has animals that talk.
Narrator
Someone who tells the story.
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
Stephen Crane's first work. Because of its bleak storyline Crane couldn't find anyone to publish it, and ended up financing it himself. It portrayed life in the slums as the main character Maggie is forced into prostitution and then suicide.
The Red Badge of Courage
Taking place during the American Civil War, this story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage," to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as standard-bearer.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The book is narrated by "Chief" Bromden, a gigantic and docile half-Native American inmate who presents himself deaf and mute. Bromden's tale focuses mainly on the antics of the rebellious Randle Patrick McMurphy, who faked insanity to serve his sentence for battery and gambling in the hospital rather than in prison. The head administrative nurse, Mildred Ratched, rules the ward with an iron fist and with little medical oversight. She is assisted by her three day-shift orderlies, and her assistant doctors. McMurphy constantly antagonizes Nurse Ratched and upsets the routines of the ward, leading to constant power struggles between the inmate and the nurse.
Antagonist
The character who opposes or tries to stop the protagonist from solving the story's crisis.
Phyllis Wheatley
The first published African-American poet.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The main character in this story is Janie Crawford, an African-American woman in her early forties, and she tells the story of her life via an extended flashback to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Pheoby tells Janie's story to the nosy community on her behalf. Her life has three major periods corresponding to her marriages to three very different men. There are four parts to this book. (1) Janie's early years with Nanny, her grandmother, (2) Nanny telling about her life (born a slave) and Janie's short first marriage, (3) Janie's years with Joe (Jody) Starks, her second husband and (4) Janie's marriage to Tea Cake Woods.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The main character of this novel is John Singer, who rents a room in the Kelly house after his fellow deaf companion, Spiros Antonapoulos, is sent away to an asylum. The amiable Singer is a confidant for four of the town's misfits—Mick Kelly, a teenage girl who dreams of becoming a trained musician; Benedict Mady Copeland, the town's black doctor; Jake Blount, an alcoholic socialist; and Biff Brannon, the owner of the local café. Each of these four characters regularly visits Singer, telling him about the injustices and pain in their lives. Each outcast believes that only Singer can understand his or her loneliness, although Singer reveals little of himself to them. He does, however, open himself to Antonapoulos through visits and letters. Singer even saves his hard-earned money to buy a movie projector for his friend.
Ralph Ellison
The main character of this novel is a young african american man who tries to find his place in the world. However, he finds this difficult because he feels that everyone around him has already decided this for him. He tries many different paths but none of them allow him to be truly free. One theme in the novel is that the young man feels invisible because no one treats him equal because he is black. Also, he feels like his true self is invisible because of the restraints and expectations placed on him by society.
Tone
The mood of the subject (subdued, joyful, explosive, etc.)
The Rise of Silas Lapham
The story follows the materialistic rise of Silas Lapham from rags to riches, and his ensuing moral susceptibility. Silas earns a fortune in the paint business, but he lacks social standards, which he tries to attain through his daughter's marriage into the aristocratic Corey family. Silas' morality does not fail him. He loses his money but makes the right moral decision when his partner proposes the unethical selling of the mills to English settlers.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The story of a slave's life as told by a slave. From the time he was a young boy living on a plantation to his life as a free man in the North. This book chronicles Frederick Douglass' travels from farms to the city and back again, his struggle to learn to read and write and his voyage of self-discovery through his efforts to better himself and his race.
Naturalists
These writers often weaved tales about society's downtrodden or criminal elements.
To Kill A Mockingbird
The story takes place during three years (1933-35) of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama, the seat of Maycomb County. It focuses on six-year-old Jean Louise Finch (Scout), who lives with her older brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill, who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, the reclusive Arthur "Boo" Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo, and few of them have seen him for many years. Later in the story, Judge Taylor appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability.
Third person objective narrator
The type of narrator that cannot tell us about any of the thoughts of the characters, but only what they are doing.
Third person limited narrator
The type of narrator that knows all about one character, including their thoughts, but that's all.
Point of view
The way a story is told and by whom.
Style
The way a story or book is written which shows the author's personal flair and touch.
Norman Mailer
This author got on the backside of feminists with the writing of The Prisoner of Sex.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
This author is responsible for the "Breakfast Table" essays.
James Fenimore Cooper
Who wrote The Last of the Mohicans?
James Fenimore Cooper
Who wrote The Leatherstocking Tales?
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
This book begins when three-year-old Maya and her older brother are sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother and ends when Maya becomes a mother at the age of 16. In the course of the story, Maya transforms from a victim of racism with an inferiority complex into a self-possessed, dignified young woman capable of responding to prejudice.
An American Tragedy
This book follows the life of Clyde Griffiths from late childhood to his infamous death. Beginning his life as the impoverished son of street missionaries, young Clyde aspires to a more affluent life with luxuries, fine clothes, and a woman who'll love him. As a young man, Clyde achieves a measure of this as a bellhop for the Green-Davidson hotel in Kansas City until a car accident involving the death of a little girl forced him to flee the city. Traveling and working under a different name, Clyde winds up in Chicago and meets his prosperous uncle, Samuel Griffiths. Samuel invites Clyde back to the city of Lycurgus, New York, to work at his collar factory. Clyde accepts, believing he'll have a chance to work up social circles and become as rich and prominent as his uncle. However, he begins as a common laborer in the shrinking room before being promoted to manager of the stamping department. Going against company wishes, Clyde seduces one of his employees, Roberta Alden, a poor farm girl from nearby Biltz. At Moon Cove on Big Bittern, Clyde finds himself unable to murder Roberta when she touches him, catching him by surprise and provoking his anger. He unintentionally lashes out at her, knocking her over and tipping the boat. He then lets Roberta drown to death, as he originally planned. Soon, Roberta's body is discovered and Clyde is caught, put on trial, and sentenced to be executed. Clyde has a chance at escaping the death sentence through the intervention of a Reverend, Duncan McMillan, but McMillan has doubts about Clyde's innocence and allows the execution to take place.
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
This book is about a young woman who dreams of wealthy living and marriage. However, she squanders all the money that she has and is left poor and in debt. At the end of the book, she overdoses on sleeping pills and dies after having paid off all her debts.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
This book is about an upper class couple who were about to be married. The soon to be husband begins to question things when he meets a free spirited (and scandalous) woman. However, he ends up going through with his marriage. The work questions the morals and ideals of society.
The Last of the Mohicans
This book is set in 18th century North America during the French and Indian War. The last members of a dying Native American tribe, the Mohicans -- Uncas, his father Chingachgook, and his adopted half-white brother Hawkeye -- live in peace alongside British colonists. They unwittingly become the protectors of the two daughters (Cora and Alice) of a British colonel, who have been targeted by Magua, a sadistic and vengeful Huron warrior who has dedicated his life to destroying the girls' father for a past injustice.
Ethan Frome
This book written by Edith Wharton tells the story of Ethan Frome who had been injured in a "smash up" some years previously. A flashback shows the story of Frome falling in love with his wife's cousin Mattie (who reciprocates his affections) who has come to care for her when she falls ill. When his wife, Zeena discovers this, she intends to have Mattie sent away. From and Mattie form a suicide pact, but instead the two are just permanently injured. The book ends with Zeena caring for Frome and Mattie.
Major character
This character is the protagonist of the story and is the story's focus.
Minor character
This character plays a supporting role in the story.
Stephen Crane
Who wrote The Red Badge of Courage?
T.S. Eliot
This famous modernist writer penned a poem called "The Hippopotamus".
The Great Gatsby
This follows the story of Nick Carraway as he is introduced to high class society of New York. He is surrounded by highly wealthy people and witnesses the moral decay that has come to them. His neighbor Jay Gatsby is famous for his extravagant parties that he throws each weekend. Nick learns that Gatsby throws these parties to impress an old love who happens to be Nick's cousin, Daisy. Nick spends time with Daisy and her husband Tom and finds that Tom is having an affair. Soon Gatsby and Daisy begin their own. When Daisy accidentally kills the woman Tom is having an affair with, Gatsby determines to take the fall for her. However, the woman's husband kills him and then commits suicide. Nick is disputed by the lack of values and ends up leaving New York.
The Fountainhead
This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him. Individualistic and idealistic architect Howard Roark is expelled from college because his designs fail to fit with existing architectural thinking. He seems unemployable but finally lands a job with like-minded Henry Cameron, however within a few years Cameron drinks himself to death, warning Roark that the same fate awaits unless he compromises his ideals. Roark is determined to retain his artistic integrity at all costs.
Round character
This is a fully developed character. The author tells us both good and bad things about them.
Parable
This is a short story with a moral.
Short Story
This is brief, prose fiction that is usually about only one character and situation.
Flat character
This is someone who seems only "sketched in" by the author. We do not know very much about this character.
Protagonist
This is the main character of the story.
The Bell Jar
This is the story of 19-year-old Esther Greenwood, the breakdown she experiences, and the beginnings of her recovery.
Slaughterhouse Five
This is the story of Billy Pilgrim, a decidedly non-heroic man who has become "unstuck in time." He travels back and forth in time, visiting his birth, death, and all the moments in between repeatedly and out of order.
My Antonia
This is the story of a young man's growth upon the prairies of Nebraska. Jim meets Antonia, a girl whom he loves in the deepest way (like a sister, a lover, a mother and a Goddess) for the rest of his life. While describing his relationship with Antonia and others, Jim also depicts the immigrant farm families on the Great Plains. In this, as in many of her other works, the author is able to show the great American spirit through nature and the mindset of the pioneers.
Falling action, Resolution, Denouement (all the same thing)
This is what happens after the climax and lets the writers show us what happens in the end.
Allen Ginsburg
This man became known as the leader of beat poetry. This style originated in the 1950s and emphasizes free expression and rejects materialism. His most famous work was a long poem entitled "Howl." The poem was essentially a criticism of American life. He is also famous for an elegy about his mother called "Kaddish."
E.E. Cummings
This modernist poet is well-known for abandoning traditional grammar and style.
The Grapes of Wrath
This novel tells the specific story of the Joad family, and thus illustrates the hardships and oppression suffered by migrant laborers during the Great Depression. It is an explicitly political piece of writing, one that champions collective action by the lower classes. The novel begins with a description of the conditions in Dust Bowl Oklahoma that ruined crops and instigated massive foreclosures on farmland. It follows the lives of the Joad family and Jim Casey and the hardships they endure.
Of Mice and Men
This novel tells the story of George and Lennie. George is a small man who looks over Lennie. Lennie is giant-like and mentally disabled. He seems sweet but doesn't understand his own strength and often kills small animals he likes to keep as pets. George and Lennie get jobs working on a farm and often speak of owning their own farm one day. However, their plan is upset when Lennie accidentally kills the farm owner's flirtatious wife and George shoots him to save him from being lynched.
The Jungle
This novel was written to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of meat packing industries in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. The book depicts working class poverty, the lack of social supports, harsh and unpleasant living and working conditions, and a hopelessness among many workers. The main character in the book is Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant trying to make ends meet in Chicago. The book begins with his and Ona's wedding feast. He and his family live near the stockyards and meatpacking district, where many immigrants work who do not know much English. He takes a job at Brown's slaughterhouse. Rudkus had thought the US would offer more freedom, but he finds working conditions harsh. He and his young wife struggle to survive. They fall deeply into debt and are prey to con men.
The Joy Luck Club
This story begins with Jing-mei-- an American raised Chinese girl-- deliberating over whether to go to China to find her step sisters and tell them of their recently deceased mother. As she discusses this with her mother's friends and their daughters, the book becomes a story of their pasts and the conflicts they face. It includes the friend's daughter's recollections of their mother's role in their childhood and the problems that they face being raised American. It also includes the friend's recollections of their mothers, and their worries and advice for their daughters.
The Color Purple
This story is about a girl named Celie whose father abuses her. She has two children by him, both of which he takes away and presumably kills. She becomes withdrawn and self-doubting. Eventually, her father marries her off and she begins an unhappy marriage. Her husband is having an affair with a woman named Shug Avery who Celie grows very fond of. Shut teaches Celie to be independent and Celie eventually leaves her husband and makes her own way.
The Sun Also Rises
This story is split into three sections. The first story introduces the main character, Jake Barnes, who is in love with an independent and flirtatious woman named Lady Brett Ashley. However, an old war injury rendered Jake impotent and though she loves him, Lady Brett Ashley refuses to commit to a relationship with him. In the second section, Jake and a group of friends embark on a trip to Pamplona, Spain. Throughout the trip there is a lot of jealous tension amongst the men because of all the attention Lady Brett Ashley receives. In the third section, the men all begin returning home to Paris and Lady Brett Ashley reveals to Jake that she has decided to marry one of his friends.
Fahrenheit 451
This tells the story of the protagonist, Guy Montag. At first, Montag takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, Montag soon begins to question the value of his profession and, in turn, his life. Throughout the novel Montag struggles with his existence, eventually fleeing his oppressive, censored society and joining an underground network of intellectuals. With his newfound friends, Montag witnesses the atomic destruction if his former city and dedicates himself to rebuilding a literate and cultural society.
The Fall of the House of Usher
This was written by Edgar Allen Poe. In this story, the narrator visits his childhood friend Roderick who appears to be falling ill. Throughout history the Usher family has had only one heir and the wealth has flowed without interruption; however, Roderick has a twin sister. Soon however she falls ill and dies of a strange disease. Usher and the narrator bury her beneath the house. Soon Roderick falls ill too and is haunted. He awakes the narrator one night and shows him an odd, glowing mist surrounding the house. There are noises and Roderick yells a confession of his terrible fear that they have buried his sister alive and she is trying to escape. The bedroom door opens and she is standing there. She runs to Roderick and begins trying to kill him, and they both die. The house begins to crumble and the narrator escapes.
Colonial Era
Time period in American literature that is very base and focuses on nature and the elements of the unknown.
William Dean Howells
Who wrote The Rise of Silas Lapham?
Willa Cather
Who wrote The Song of the Lark?
William Faulkner
Who wrote The Sound and the Fury?
Rhyme
Two lines that end in similarly sounding words.
Third person omniscient narrator
Type of narrator that is all knowing. They might have information that the main characters do not have.
Anne Bradstreet
Who wrote Contemplations?
Ray Bradbury
Who wrote Dandelion Wine?
John Steinbeck
Who wrote East of Eden?
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What American author spearheaded the movement to write about Native American themes?
Epiphany
When a character has a sudden realization. An example would be a wife who suddenly puts together all the clues about her husband and realizes he is having an affair. Also referred to as "like being struck by lightning."
Blank verse
When a poem doesn't rhyme.
Eye rhyme
When word look alike but don't actually rhyme.
Allegory
Where abstract ideas are represented by characters or other means.
First person
Where the speaker is talking about himself or herself, There may be phrases such as "I love going to the park. We're going there today."
D. Oklahoma City, OK
Where was Ralph Ellison born? A. New York City, NY B. Mobile, AL C. Boston, MA D. Oklahoma City, OK
Rising action
Where we find out about the conflict and includes all new problems we learn about along the way.
Exposition
Where we meet the characters and the setting.
Washington Irving
Who is known as the father of the American short story?
William Faulkner
Who wrote "A Rose for Emily"?
Robert Frost
Who wrote "After Apple Picking"?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes"?
James Joyce
Who wrote "Araby"?
Anonymous
Who wrote "Barbara Allen"?
Toni Morrison
Who wrote "Beloved"?
William Butler Yeats
Who wrote "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop"?
Edith Wharton
Who wrote "Ethan Frome"?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote "Gather Together in My Name"?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote "Getting Merry Like Christmas"?
Isaac Singer
Who wrote "Gimpel the Fool"?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"?
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Who wrote "Miniver Cheevy"?
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Who wrote "Mr. Flood's Party"?
John Keats
Who wrote "Ode on a Grecian Urn"?
John Steinbeck
Who wrote "Of Mice and Men"?
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Who wrote "Richard Cory"?
Maya Angelou
Who wrote "Singin' and Swingin'"?
Toni Morrison
Who wrote "Song of Solomon"?
Toni Morrison
Who wrote "Tar Baby"?
Toni Morrison
Who wrote "The Bluest Eye"?
Mark Twain
Who wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?
Alice Walker
Who wrote "The Color Purple"?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Who wrote "The Great Gatsby"?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Who wrote "The House of Seven Gables"?
Amy Tan
Who wrote "The Joy Luck Club"?
T.S. Eliot
Who wrote "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"?
Robert Frost
Who wrote "The Road Not Taken"?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Who wrote "The Scarlet Letter"?
Ernest Hemingway
Who wrote "The Sun Also Rises"?
James Agee
Who wrote A Death in the Family?
Ernest Hemingway
Who wrote A Farewell to Arms?
William Faulkner
Who wrote As I Lay Dying?
Henry David Thoreau
Who wrote Civil Disobedience?
Modernism
With what literary movement is Faulkner most often associated? Social realism Modernism Post-modernism Romanticism
Red Badge of Courage
Written by Stephen Crane. This book is about a Civil War soldier who finds his courage on the field of battle.
Edith Wharton
Wrote The Age of Innocence and House of Mirth. An early 20th century author whose written works focused on morals and social expectations of the middle and upper class.
Robert Frost
poet; realistic depictions of rural life, and his command of American colloquial speech