Modern American Literature

Final Exam

Study Guide

4 SectionsA. Literature Comprehension (20 points)

B. Quote ID and Significance (20 pts.)

C. Semester Reading (20 pts.)

D. Essays (40 pts)

Section A – Literature Comprehension

• 20 multiple choice questions

• Streetcar Named Desire

• The Grapes of Wrath

• Snow Falling on Cedars

• She’s Come Undone

• “Barn Burning”

• “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”

• Ethan Frome

Part B – Quote Identification & Significance

• 4 easily identifiable quotes from literature we have read

• For each quote, identify the speaker and the plot situation (2 points) and the thematic significance (3 points).

Part C – Semester Reading• Here is your last crack at that ever-popular

quiz format where you are given a word bank and must fill in the blank.

• Excerpts will cover all the literature we have read this semester.

• 20 blanks to fill

Part D - Essays• You have to write 2 essays and they are

prescribed.

• In other words, you don’t choose two to answer from a long list…there are ONLY two questions, and you must answer both.

• Think about themes.

• Think about the conclusion to She’s Come Undone.

Themes - …Streetcar

• Class Conflict

• Sex Roles

• Violence and Cruelty

• Madness

Themes – Grapes…• Hope

• Class Conflict

• Fanaticism

• Individual vs. Society

• Commitment

Themes - …Cedars

• Interracial Love

•Guilt

• Prejudice

Themes - …Undone

• Coming of Age

• The Quest for Happiness

• The Quest for Acceptance

Themes – “Barn Burning”

• Alienation and Loneliness

• Anger and Hatred

• Loyalty and Betrayal

• Morals and Morality

• Order and Disorder

Themes – “…Hadleyburg”• Hypocrisy• Morality, Ethics and the

Innateness of Human Sinfulness• The Eden Myth and the

“Fortunate Fall”• Individual versus Society

Themes – Ethan Frome

• Frustration

• Individual Responsibility

• Loneliness