AMERICAN LITERATURE COURSE PART II (SEM.

II)
EXAM QUESTIONS

1. Define the term ‘’local color’’ and how it relates to realism in fiction. Give examples of
local colorists. (30 p)
2. Discuss the concept of regionalism (local color) in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Give examples from the novel.
3. Main characteristics and representatives of American naturalism. (30 p)
4. Henry James and his connection to the American modernism in fiction. (30 p)
5. Discuss the main phases in Henry James’ literary career. Give examples of his works for
each phase. (30)
6. Discuss the main characters in Henry James’ Washington Square. (10 p)
7. Henry James’ novels. Discuss why they mark the turn from the 19th century realistic
novel to the 20th century modernist novel. (30 p)
8. Discuss the main characters in Henry James’ Washington Square. (10 p)
9. Briefly present the main characteristics of Dreiser's style which make him a naturalist
writer. (30 p)
10. Is there any connection between Theodore Dreiser’s life and his novels? (30 p)
11. Social, economical, political and cultural factors that influenced the development of
American fiction in the 1920’s. (30 p)
12. Scott Fitzgerald’s works and the Roaring Twenties. How and why did he embody this
epoch? (30 p)
13. Ernest Hemingway’s life and works. Is there a connection between them? (30 p)
14. Discuss the main themes in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. (10 p)
15. Discuss the main characters in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. (10 p)
16. Discuss point of view in The Sun also Rises. (10 p)
17. Discuss the main characters in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest
Hemingway. (10 p)
18. Main narrative techniques in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest
Hemingway. (10 p)
19. Gertrude Stein’s life and works. Focus on the role she played in the modernist
movement.(30 p)
20. Discuss the main characters in Washington Square. (10 p)
21. Discuss the main narrative techniques in Washington Square. (10 p)
22. Hemingway and the American modernism. (30 p)
23. Main trends in the American postmodern novel. Give examples (30 p)
24. Ernest Hemingway’s life and works. Is there any connection between them? (30 p)
25. Discuss the main characters in the Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest
Hemingway, focusing on the relationships they establish among them. (10 p)
26. Scott Fitzgerald and the Roaring Twenties. In what way did he illustrate and embody the
spirit of this epoch? (30 p)
27. Discuss the main themes in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. (10 p)
28. Discuss the main characters in The Great Gatsby, focusing on the relationships among
them. (10 p)
29. Discuss the theme of the American dream in The Great Gatsby by Scott. (10 p)
30. American Modernism. Main representatives in poetry and prose. (30 p)
31. Discuss the point of view in The Sun also Rises. Can you relate it to Hemingway’s view
on writing? (10 p)
32. Gertrude Stein as a representative of the American Modernism. Her works and literary
career. (30 p)
33. William Faulkner and the American modernism. (30 p)
34. Discuss the main themes in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. (10 p)
35. Discuss the main characters in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. (10 p)
36. Scott Fitzgerald’s life and his novels. Is there any connection between them? (30 p)
37. Which are the main principles of writing poetry, as outlined by Ezra Pound in A
Retrospect? (10 p)
38. Ezra Pound’s literary career and works. Focus on his role in the modernist movement.
(30 p)
39. Ezra Pound and the imagist movement in American modern poetry. (30 p)
40. Comment on the following lines. Mention the author’s name, the title of the poem and
the main characteristics of the style: ‘’The apparition of these faces in the crowd/Petals on a
wet black bough.’’(10 p)
41. Ezra Pound and imagist poetry. Focus on Ezra Pound’s role in the imagist movement,
giving examples from his works. (30 p)
42. Main American modern poets. Give examples of their works and styles. (30 p)
43. American Modernism and the Roaring Twenties. (30 p)
44. T.S. Eliot as a poet and literary critic. (30 p)
45. Ezra Pound –T.S. Eliot, two prominent figures of the American modernism. (30 p)
46. Briefly discuss the concepts of fragmentariness and coherence in The Love Song of J.
Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot. Provide examples from the poem. (30 p)
47. Comment on the following lines from the poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by
T. S. Eliot. Identify the underlined figure of speech: ‘’For I have known them all already,
known them all-/Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, / I have measured out my
life with coffee spoons;’’ (10 p)
48. American Poetry since 1945: the Anti-Tradition. Give examples (30 p)
49. The Beat generation. Main characteristics and representatives. Give examples of their
works (30 p)
50. Allen Ginsberg’s life and his poetry. In what way is his poetry representative in the
context of postmodernism? (30 p)
51. Comment on the following lines from the poem A Supermarket in California by Allen
Ginsberg, focusing on the highlighted words : ‘’Ah dear father, graybeard, lonely old-
courage teacher, what/America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and/you got
out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat/disappear on the black waters of
Lethe?’’(10 p)
52. Although in the poem A Supermarket in California, the speaker is addressing to Walt
Whitman, is this poem about Whitman or about modern America? (10 p)
53. What is the speaker’s reaction to modern America in the poem A Supermarket in
California?
54. American Prose since 1945: Realism and Experimentation. (30 p)
55. Social, political and cultural factors that influenced the further development of the
56. American prose after 1945.(30 p)
57. American poetry after WWII. Main schools (30 p)
58. Experimental poetry since 1945. Main schools, representatives and characteristics. (30
p)
59. The theme of the war in the American fiction after 1945. (30 p)
60. Postmodern American fiction. Main characteristics and representatives. (30 p)
61. Kurt Vonnegut and the postmodern novel. Why did his novels represent a hallmark in
the American postmodern fiction? (30 p)
62. The narrative structure in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (10 p)
63. Main themes in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (10 p)
64. Explain in what way Slaughterhouse Five is a self-referential novel. Provide relevant
examples from the novel. (10 p)
65. Discuss the role of Chapters I and X in the narrative structure of the novel
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. (10 p)
66. Is Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut an anti-war novel? Give arguments for or
against? (10 p)
67. Discuss the main themes in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (10 p)
68. Discuss the main characters in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (10 p)
69. 20th century American drama. Main characteristics and representatives. (30 p)
70. Arthur Miller and the 20th century American drama. (30 p)
71. The theme of the American dream in Death of a Salesman. (10 p)
72. Arthur Miller’s dramas. Main themes. (30 p)
73. Discuss the main characters in Death of a Salesman. (10 p)
74. Briefly outline the main themes in Death of a Salesman.
75. May we consider Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman a tragic hero?
76. Expressionistic dramatic devices in Death of a Salesman.