NAME: ____________________________
American Literature
Mrs. Anzalone
Second Semester 2010
Final Exam Study Guide - 130 Questions
I.
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A. How does The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn fit into categories of realism?
B. What is satire?
C. How are the following themes apparent in the novel: human corruption, racism, deformed
conscience, role of an outsider, and adolescent conscience?
D. What is a picaresque novel?
E. Be able to identify the plot structure of the following episodic plots: Wilkes, Grangerfords,
Phelps, Boggs/Sherburn, Sir Walter Scott. (Do not worry. You do not need to identify specific
quotes from the novel. You should be able to remember specific characteristics of the main
characters.)
II. Elements of Realism
A. society as weak and corrupt
B. regions becoming more distinct in speech and dialect
C. Characters are easy to relate to
D. Characters often establish roles of hierarchy
III. Feminism
A. Kate Chopin
i. “ The Story of an Hour” – What were Mrs. Mallard’s views of marriage? How were they
unacceptable for women from this time period?
ii. What is irony? Be able to give an example of irony that appears in this story.
iii. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” – Originally, what did the main character intend to spend money
on? What does the main character spend money on in the end? What is the symbolism of the
narrator’s thoughts at the end of the chapter as she boards the trolley?
iv. What elements of Chopin’s stories apply to Realism?
B. Edith Wharton
i. Who was the intended audience of the story “April Showers”?
ii. What does Theodora learn about her father at the end of “April Showers”?
iii. In “Mrs. Manstey’s View”, what does the window represent?
iv. What is the irony surrounding Mrs. Manstey’s death?
v. What elements of Wharton’s stories apply to Realism?
IV. F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
A. Understand the following themes from The Great Gatsby: Desire for the American Dream,
Unrequited Love, and Importance of Wealth
B. Symbols
i. colors
ii. loneliness
iii. Daisy’s white clothes
iv. Pammy
v. Gatsby’s car
vi. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg
vii. social class
C. What are similarities between various characters in the novel?
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V. Ernest Hemingway
A. About Ernest Hemingway (PowerPoint notes)
i.
Where did Hemingway grow up?
ii.
What wars did Hemingway base most of his literature off of?
iii.
What is the iceberg technique?
B. “Cat in the Rain” (Packet passed out in class.)
i.
Describe the relationship between the American wife and her husband, George.
ii.
How does Hemingway represent the wife’s lack of identity?
iii.
Compare the similarities between the wife and the cat.
C. “In Another Country” (Page 734 in the textbook.)
i.
Where does this story take place?
ii.
Who is the man that wears a black veil? Why is it ironic that he does not receive a
medal?
iii.
Why does the narrator believe he doesn’t fit in with the other “boys” he meets?
iv.
What is the irony behind the death of the Major’s wife?
D. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (Packet passed out in class.)
i.
Describe the hyena skulking around the camp. What does the hyena represent?
ii.
Describe the relationship between Harry and his wife.
iii.
How does the woman know that her husband Harry has died?
iv.
What are the various similarities between all married couples in Hemingway’s
stories?
E. “Hills Like White Elephants” (Packet passed out in class.)
i. What do the “white elephants” represent?
ii. What happens to the woman in the story?
VI.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Harlem Renaissance
What made it difficult for blacks to leave the south and travel to Harlem? (PowerPoint notes)
What is The Great Migration? (PowerPoint notes)
What were common themes that began to emerge during the Harlem Renaissance? (PowerPoint
notes)
Why did the Harlem Renaissance end? (PowerPoint Notes)
What type of pop culture contributed to this literary movement? (PowerPoint Notes)
Please reread the following poetry and be able to answer specific questions to each poem. These
questions will be multiple choice: “My City” by Claude McKay, “The Tropics of New York” by
Claude McKay, “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes.
VII. Truman Capote (Nonfiction Novel)
A. What type of new nonfiction did Capote become famous for when he wrote In Cold Blood?
B. What was Capote’s purpose of describing the Clutter family in the beginning of the excerpt we
read in class?
C. Why are the first words of the book so famous in American literary history?
D. How does Capote describe Perry Smith’s purpose for committing the crimes, and how does he
somehow make readers feel sympathetic towards the criminals?
VIII. Comparing and Contrasting Authors
A. Be able to compare various authors by quotes from the work or by characteristics of the
author.
B. Identify various differences between Realism and Modernism
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