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Understanding Literature
Exploring Themes
100
In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou uses _________ to help her environment come to life for the reader, who begins to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the same things she did. A. personification B. suspense C. sensory detail D. humorous language
What is B. suspense
100
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and "A Cub Pilot" are both... A. memoirs B. tragedies C. works of fiction D. narrative poems
What is A. memoirs
100
Read the following poetic phrase: "Sorrows springs are the same..." What is the main letter of this phrase that is an example of alliteration?
What is the letter S.
100
What are the five elements of a short story?
What is exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
100
In "The Glass of Milk" the following sentence appears: "A hundred times, he mentally repeated the word eat, eat, eat." This sentence captures... A. the boy's habit of repeating himself B. the boy's desperate hunger C. the boy's soaring intelligence D. the boy's intense boredom
What is B. the boy's desperate hunger
200
Which of the following best summarizes the theme of "A Cub Pilot"? A. The Mississippi River is too dangerous to sail down. B. Being a steamboat captain is unnecessarily difficult. C. Mark Twain never should have left his typewriter. D. A steamboat captain must have confidence in his own abilities.
What is D. A steamboat captain must have confidence in his own abilities.
200
What mood does Langston Hughes create in the following sentence from "Gumption"? "No, but you can choke on shame!' my wife yelled, looking hard at Jack and me." A. awe B. anger C. amusement D. sadness
What is B. anger
200
In the poem "in Just-" Cummings' reference to the balloonman as "goat-footed" is an ________ to the Greek god Pan.
What is allusion.
200
How does one know that James Thurber uses a limited third-person narrator in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"? A. the narrator is a character in the story. B. the narrator addresses readers as if they are participants in the action of the story. C. the narrator only knows what Walter Mitty is doing or thinking during the story. D. the narrator knows what all characters are thinking and doing at all times in the story.
What is C. the narrator only knows what Walter Mitty is doing or thinking during the story.
200
Both Emerson's "The Snow-Storm" and Dickinson's "It sifts from Laden Sieves" advocate... A. the importance of exercising one's imagination. B. viewing the wind as an architect. C. ignoring what happens outside in favor of focusing on human interaction. D. respect for the beauty and power of nature.
What is D. respect for the beauty and power of nature.
300
E.E. Cummings is a poet known for... A. experimenting with capitalization, spelling, grammar, and syntax in his writing. B. long, literal descriptions of the natural world. C. being reclusive and having most of his work published after his death. D. frightening narrative poems about lost loves.
What is A. experimenting with capitalization, spelling, grammar, and syntax in his writing.
300
A theme, character type, image, metaphor, or symbol that recurs throughout a work of literature is a...
What is motif
300
A poem that uses neither rhyme nor meter is called... A. sonnet B. ode C. free-verse D. narrative
What is C. free-verse
300
Which of the following stories employs a symmetrical plot to keep the reader guessing about its conclusion even after the story ends? A. "The Glass of Milk" B. "Barrio Boy" C. "Spring and Fall" D. "The Lady or the Tiger?"
What is D. "The Lady or the Tiger?"
300
Which of the following phrases best describes the theme of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"? A. An imagination is a dangerous thing B. Someone who seems awkward or bumbling might be a different person on the inside C. A man must learn to stick up for himself D. People like Walter Mitty are foolish and annoying
What is B. Someone who seems awkward or bumbling might be a different person on the inside
400
Jack London's writing, including the story "To Build a Fire," advocates... A. remaining always within the safe bounds of civilization. B. the control that man has over his environment. C. respect for the power and wildness of the natural world. D. finding humor in life's most serious situations.
What is C. respect for the power and wildness of the natural world.
400
Of what technique is the following line from Langston Hughes' "Gumption" an example? "Well, they ain't got no better, leastwise not for colored." A. personification B. foreshadowing C. resolution D. dialect
What is D. dialect
400
When John Keats writes, "Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind," he is using ________ to make his poem more personal and moving to readers.
What is personification.
400
What lesson does the main character of Guy de Maupassant's "The Piece of String" learn, to his sorrow? A. Thieves will blame innocent men to stay out of trouble. B. If one is known to be deceitful, one will not be believed even when telling the truth. C. One cannot trust local government officials to be fair. D. Some people make up their minds and cannot be swayed by reason or logic.
What is B. If one is known to be deceitful, one will not be believed even when telling the truth.
400
In "The Piece of String" the main character learns that... A. a reputation for deceit makes one seem unreliable, even when telling the truth B. freedom and liberty are causes worth fighting for C. people who hold grudges D. friendship does not fade no matter how many years pass, no one understands
What is A. a reputation for deceit makes one seem unreliable, even when telling the truth
500
In stories such as "The Piece of String," Guy de Maupassant demonstrates his flair for... A. horror B. suspense C. absurd humor D. irony
What is D. irony
500
The _______ of "The Glass of Milk" comes when the boy eats the wafer and drinks the milk even though he knows he cannot pay for it. A. conflict B. exposition C. climax D. rising action
What is C. climax
500
In "In Just-," what mood does the poet create with the words "and betty and isabel come dancing / from hop-scotch and jump-rope and / it's / spring"? A. unbearable boredom B. desperate sadness C. confused anger D. happy excitement
What is D. happy excitement
500
Both Mark Twain's "A Cub Pilot" and Russell Baker's "No Gumption" use ______ to make their stories more enjoyable for readers. A. rhyme B. suspense C. intense action D. humor
What is D. humor
500
In "Spring and Fall" the speaker insists that Margaret will one day... A. try to write a poem about viewing the falling leaves B. be happy and fun-loving, free from the worries of the world C. forget what she saw at Goldengrove D. grow accustomed to the sadness and suffering that characterize life
What is D. grow accustomed to the sadness and suffering that characterize life