Class Novels
In Things Fall Apart, this specific crop represents masculinity, wealth, and the protagonist’s status within the clan.
What are yams?
What are the names of both of Meursault's neighbors in The Stranger?
Who are Raymond and Salamano?
In the final stanza of "Barbie Doll," the poet places the image of the girl’s "turned-up putty nose" and pink silk dress directly alongside the "undertaker's" handiwork. This placement of a "pretty" bridal-like image against the reality of a corpse is an example of this literary term.
What is juxtaposition?
When Vonnegut compares the sounds of the British POW's hammering to "Golgotha Sounds", this is an example of what literary device?
What is allusion (biblical)?
A character whose physical journey mirrors internal change.
Free Response -
Character & Connection
This three-word phrase is repeated 106 times in the novel, appearing every time a death occurs, signaling the Tralfamadorian view of fatalism.
What is "So it goes"?
This character serves as a "foil" to Hamlet; unlike the Prince, he immediately seeks violent revenge for his father’s death without hesitation.
Who is Laertes?
Hamlet’s famous claim that he "must be cruel only to be kind" is an example of this—a statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a deeper, complex truth.
What is a paradox?
The 19th-century movement of European expansion in Africa.
What is imperialism?
A character struggling against societal/traditional expectations
Free Response
Character & Connection
In court, why does Meursault say was his motivation for killing the Arab man at the beach?
What is the sun?
Just steps away from the horrific "Grove of Death," Marlow is amazed to meet this "miracle" of a man who maintains a perfectly starched collar, snowy cuffs, and "brushed hair" despite the surrounding tropical decay.
Who is the accountant?
In Slaughterhouse-Five, when Edgar Derby survives the firebombing of Dresden only to be executed for stealing a teapot from the ruins, this an example of what literary device?
What is irony?
In Slaughterouse Five, Vonnegut consistently emphasizes the ironic notion that humans cling to delusions in order to maintain their sanity.
What epitaph does he want written on his (and Billy's) tombstone that showcases this idea?
What is, "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"?
A protagonist who is "Morally Ambiguous."
Free Response
Character & Connection
In Hamlet, the gravediggers hand Hamlet a skull. Whose skull is it? What is their name and former occupation?
Who is Yorick, the King's jester?
This character in the Everglades attempts to befriend Janie because of her fair skin and "Caucasian" features, expressing a deep-seated contempt for "black" African American features and serving as a foil to Janie’s search for self-acceptance.
Who is Mrs. Turner?
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Slaughterhouse Five, and Heart of Darkness are examples of ___________________, stories within stories.
What is a frame narrative?
The Post-WWII style characterized by fragmentation and dark humor.
What is postmodernism?
A work where the setting acts as an antagonist.
Free Response
Text & Connection
What phrase does Marlow consistently use to describe the Ivory Trading Company headquarters in Brussels?
What is a whited sepulcher?
What are Meursault's opening lines in The Stranger that demonstrate his detachment towards life?
What is, "Maman died today"
Bonus: "or maybe yesterday, I don't know"
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Joe Starks’s obsessive need for "big-ness" and control functions as this—the specific Greek term for a protagonist’s tragic flaw.
What is hamartia?
This 20th-century movement posits that humanity’s search for meaning is inherently at odds with a silent, indifferent universe.
What is absurdism?
A work that explores the "Paradox of Progress."
Free Respone
-Text & Connection