103 American Literature Final Exam
Final Exam
I. Multiple choice: 1% x 30 = 30%
1865-1914
1. The novels and short stories of Henry James and Edith Wharton tended to focus on
(A) the tragic outcomes of impoverished characters living in industrialized urban wastelands.
(B) the ordeals of isolated characters living as survivalists in the sparsely populated hinterlands of the United States.
(C) the inner psychological lives of privileged upper-class characters.
(D) the exploits of characters with startling accomplishments and impressive abilities.
2. What qualities distinguish practitioners of “naturalism” from practitioners of “realism” as a general movement?
(A) their use of unspoiled natural settings for their fiction, rather than urban or agricultural spaces shaped by human activity
(B) their focus on the way their characters’ lives are determined by forces beyond their own control
(C) their focus on children and the possibilities of childhood
(D) their focus on their characters’ abilities to forge their own destinies through the choices they make and the positions they knowingly adopt
3. Many noted authors of the late nineteenth century began their careers as
(A) university professors. (B) religious clergy.
(C) visual artists. (D) newspaper journalists.
4. Which of the following best describes the conditions most urban factory workers faced at the end of the nineteenth century?
(A) low wages, dangerous working conditions, and few laws regulating safety or working hours
(B) dangerous working conditions but relatively high wages and job security
(C) low wages but effective union organization that ensured worker safety and reasonable working hours
(D) There were few urban factor workers at the end of the nineteenth century; most laborers worked in agriculture during that period.
5. Which of the following best describes the effects of the end of Reconstruction in the southern states in 1877?
(A) African Americans enjoyed unprecedented economic opportunities and protection of their civil rights.
I. Multiple choice: 1% x 30 = 30%
1865-1914
1. The novels and short stories of Henry James and Edith Wharton tended to focus on
(A) the tragic outcomes of impoverished characters living in industrialized urban wastelands.
(B) the ordeals of isolated characters living as survivalists in the sparsely populated hinterlands of the United States.
(C) the inner psychological lives of privileged upper-class characters.
(D) the exploits of characters with startling accomplishments and impressive abilities.
2. What qualities distinguish practitioners of “naturalism” from practitioners of “realism” as a general movement?
(A) their use of unspoiled natural settings for their fiction, rather than urban or agricultural spaces shaped by human activity
(B) their focus on the way their characters’ lives are determined by forces beyond their own control
(C) their focus on children and the possibilities of childhood
(D) their focus on their characters’ abilities to forge their own destinies through the choices they make and the positions they knowingly adopt
3. Many noted authors of the late nineteenth century began their careers as
(A) university professors. (B) religious clergy.
(C) visual artists. (D) newspaper journalists.
4. Which of the following best describes the conditions most urban factory workers faced at the end of the nineteenth century?
(A) low wages, dangerous working conditions, and few laws regulating safety or working hours
(B) dangerous working conditions but relatively high wages and job security
(C) low wages but effective union organization that ensured worker safety and reasonable working hours
(D) There were few urban factor workers at the end of the nineteenth century; most laborers worked in agriculture during that period.
5. Which of the following best describes the effects of the end of Reconstruction in the southern states in 1877?
(A) African Americans enjoyed unprecedented economic opportunities and protection of their civil rights.