Unit 8 Test Review-Modern Fiction and Nonfiction

In comparison to literature of the nineteenth century, the subject and scope of literature of the twentieth century can be characterized as more

• limited and focused

• humorous and complicated

• diverse and broad

• intelligent and subtle

In the first half of the twentieth century, many American writers turned their attention to __________.

• ordinary people and the challenges of everyday life

• extraordinary people and the challenges of society's elite

• dangerous people and the challenges facing societies that must deal with them

• highly educated people and the challenges of the life of the mind

In "A Wagner Matinee," Willa Cather contrasts Boston's civilized culture and way of life with __________.

• Nebraska's calm and easy way of life

• Nebraska's enjoyable and exciting way of life

• Nebraska's intellectual and mentally demanding way of life

• Nebraska's harsh and physically demanding way of life

By writing "A Wagner Matinee" from Clark's point of view, Willa Cather __________.

• keeps readers from knowing what Aunt Georgiana truly feels

• reminds readers that Clark is the most important character in this short story

• allows readers to know the thoughts and feelings of every character in the story

• biases reader opinion against Clark so that his descriptions and opinions seem unreliable

Why does Aunt Georgiana not want to leave the concert hall at the end of "A Wagner Matinee"?

• Leaving means having to spend more time with Clark, who has shown himself to be a poor host and a snob.

• Leaving means recognizing that she has decades worth of developments in music to catch up on.

• Leaving means ignoring the pursuits of the soul and focusing on the dull concerns of life in Nebraska.

• Leaving means accepting that the German cowhand who introduced her to Wagner will never return.

In Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path," the journey that Phoenix Jackson undertakes is a metaphor for __________.

• death

• life

• marriage

• divorce

In "A Worn Path," Phoenix Jackson ultimately shows herself to be someone whose actions are all done out of __________.

• dedication and love for her grandson

• selfishness and bitterness over her predicament

• confusion and anger about illness

• confidence and faith in medicine

In Black Boy, the young Richard Wright associates the discomfort he feels from hunger with __________.

• the pain he feels after being beat up by the boys on his street

• the happiness he feels after successfully completing the family's grocery shopping

• the bitter pain he feels over being abandoned by his father

• the anger he feels toward his mother for not feeding him

What does Richard Wright learn by the end of the excerpt from Black Boy that you read in this unit?

• He learns that his mother is not always right and is therefore unreliable.

• He learns to stand up for himself and to take control of his own destiny.

• He learns to forgive his father for abandoning his mother, his brother, and himself.

• He learns that no problem is so serious that resorting to violence to solve it is justified.