LI 256 Exam Study guide ]

You will have the entire class period for the exam.

I will provide a list of titles and authors of the works covered in this section so you will not have to spend time on rote memory; of course that means you will have no excuse if you misspell an author’s name.

The exam will have three sections:

I. A list of short answer or identification items, like “a flask of whiskey.”

Good answer:

One of the items Manley takes from his Bible in the seduction scene; could be a symbol of one of

the gifts of the wise men.

II. A series of quotations from the works (more detailed discussion below).

III. Two to five essay questions (depends on how many items you have to do in Section II). They could be quite broad: “Which of the stories read in this section does the best job of using the elements of fiction to develop its theme? Explain and support your answer.” Or they could be more specific: “Compare Joy/Hulga to Young Goodman Brown.”

The quotations will be passages we have discussed in class. The instructions will be as follows:

For X number of the following identify the work from which the passage is taken and explain its importance. That is, explain how the passage helps develop point of view, plot, character, setting, symbol, theme, for example. In short, discuss anything that is important in the passage but REMEMBER TO LIMIT YOUR DISCUSSION TO THE SPECIFIC PASSAGE.

If, for example, the quotation is the first few lines of Toni Cade Bambera’s “The Lesson,” you should discuss the importance of point of view and how the passage reveals character and setting; you could not, for example, discuss the sailboat. It does not appear in that passage.

Sample quotation:

Apparently with no surprise

To any happy Flower,

The Frost beheads it at its play

Sample Answers

1. Emily Dickinson’s poem tells about a flower being killed.

Probably an F, no more than a D: only a brief, shallow summary

2. Dickinson’s “Apparently with no surprise” discusses human death and how God approves of it.

No better than a C; doesn’t explain how the death of a flower became human death and brings in a part not appearing in the quotation (God’s approval).

3. Dickinson’s “Apparently with no surprise” uses personification to allow the flower’s death to be a symbol for human death.

Probably a B; Uses the terms “personification” and “symbol” correctly but fails to demonstrate understanding of “personification” or cite specific examples.

4. Dickinson’s “Apparently with no surprise” gives the non-human flower human qualities with words like “surprise,” “happy,” and “play.” This personification helps the reader see that the death of the flower is really a symbol for human death.

An A answer. Shows understanding of the term “personification” and offers specific examples.