103 American Literature Final Exam Essay example

Words: 5468
Pages: 22

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

1914-1945
11. Modernist literary techniques had the effect of:
(A) increasing the average length of published literary works
(B) decreasing the average length of published literary works
(C) diminishing interest in film and visual media
(D) increasing the publication of “high art” in mainstream media outlets
12. Most high modernists conceived of their aesthetic movement as:
(A) rooted in the landscape of America
(B) a way of protecting the “purity” of American culture and rejecting the influences of Europe
(C) international in nature, bringing together American and European culture
(D) a rejection of America and American experiences
13. In 1920, what development changed social and political life for women?
(A) They were denied the legal right to drive automobiles.
(B) They gained the right to vote.
(C) Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, banning sex discrimination in pay in a number of different professions.
(D) They were prohibited from enrolling in most college and universities.
14. Which of the following contributed to production of mass popular culture in the interwar period?
(A) the explosion in “little magazines”
(B) the development of computers for home and personal use
(C) the new accessibility and publication of the work of scientists
(D) the radio
15. In the interwar period, many Americans were influenced by Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud’s theories about the human psyche. Which of the following describes one of Freud’s