Final Study Questions

FINAL EXAM: FRIDAY, JUNE 12

1. Shakespeare’s Hamlet states to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that, “[Man] in action [is] like an angel” (2.2.229-330). What is the meaning of this simile?

2. Icarus is plagued with a tragic flaw that demonstrates the consequences of hubris. What does Icarus do in the myth of Icarus and Daedalus that illustrates these consequences?

3. “Satire and irony hold up mirrors to society and reveal the hypocrisy of social beliefs. But, ironically, even the satirist sometimes validates these beliefs. ” How does Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales exemplify the truth in this quote?

4. What is a tragic flaw? What are some examples of Oedipus’ tragic flaw in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex?

5. How do the words and phrases “hero with a fatal flaw, adventures, jealousy, gods, gadfly, myth” relate to one another?

6. Hamlet’s words to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, “How infinite in faculties [is man]” (2.2.328) provide an example of hyperbole. What is hyperbole? What do Hamlet’s words mean here?

7. What is a motif? What are some motifs in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex? What themes are developed by this motif?

8. Hamlet’s idea that “A dream itself is but a shadow” (2.2.279) illustrates Shakespeare’s use of metaphor. What do his words mean and why does he say them?

9. Madame Schachter’s visions about fire on the train are an example of which literary element? Explain how this works.

10. Both Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex fall into the category of ________________ because of the dramatic presentation of serious actions in which the chief character has a disastrous fate.

11. Eliezer and his father leaving the camp hospital before it is safely liberated illustrate an example of which literary element? Explain.

12. How do the following words, phrases, and names relate to one another: protagonist, undergoes change, character development, major, jealousy, dynamic, Gene, A Separate Peace.

13. Hamlet’s words to Polonius are riddled with double-meaning, as when he says of Ophelia, “Your daughter may conceive” (2.2.202). This is an example of Shakespeare’s use of pun. What are the two meanings?

14. The following excerpt from Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour reinforces the _______________ of the story.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

15. What is the climax of Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night?

16. What is dramatic irony? How does it differ from verbal irony and situational irony? What are some examples of dramatic irony in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex?

17. What themes and ideas characterize Romantic Poetry?

18. Hamlet: [Old men] have a plentiful lack of wit […] (2.2.217) illustrates an oxymoron. What does this mean and how does it work in the quote?

19. The following lines from John Keats’ La Belle Dame Sans Merci (Romantic Period) contain an example the poetic device near rhyme. What does this mean?
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms!
So haggard and so woe-begone?

20. The following line from William Wordsworth’s Daffodils contains an example of the poetic device repetition. What is the effect of repetition in poetry?

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought


21. The following quotes from Oscar Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest are aphorisms. What are aphorisms? Interpret the aphorisms below.

a) “The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!” (Algernon).

b) “Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only those who can’t get into it do that” (Jack).


22. Polonius, in an aside while speaking to Hamlet states: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in ‘t” (2.2.223-224). This statement presents a paradox, or a situation where something seems to be both true and false. Analyze the quote in context of the plot.

23. Read in historical context of the Russian Revolution, George Orwell’s Animal Farm is considered an ___________________, because it presents an extended metaphor about the corruptive nature of power.

24. The passage below is taken from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Is the tone subjective or objective? How do these words illustrate the logical, methodical thinking that led to Ford's creation of the assembly line and its focus on quantity over quality?

Still leaning against the incubators he gave them, while the pencils scurried illegibly across the pages, a brief description of the modern fertilizing process; spoke first, of course, of its surgical introduction— “the operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months’ salary…”

25. What are the major themes explored in Huxley’s Brave New World?

26. The following pun said by Hamlet to Polonius expresses two meanings. What are the meanings?
Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words (2.2.209-210)

27. The following statements illustrate an analysis of Hamlet’s characterization. What is the main idea of the passage?

In the tragic play Hamlet, the character Hamlet was undoubtedly one of William Shakespeare's greatest characters. The overall appeal Hamlet has to an audience or reader almost definitely stems from his many human weaknesses. The best known is indecisiveness, but his inconsistency is even more outstanding…

28. The following analysis explains how Brinker Hadley functions as a __________________ character to Finny in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace.

Brinker Hadley is, in many ways a character whose actions or emotions contrast with, and thereby highlight, those of another character Finny. Also charismatic and a leader of the Devon boys, Brinker wields a power comparable but opposite to Finny's. Whereas Finny is spontaneous, mischievous, and vibrant, Brinker is stolid and conservative, a guardian of law and order.

29. Lady Bracknell is the ________________ of Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest because she represents a block, or obstacle to both potential marriages. She embodies typical Victorian classism; she does not allow Gwendolen to marry Jack when she finds out he is an orphan, and she dislikes Cecily as a mate for her nephew Algernon until she learns that Cecily is wealthy.

30. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Boxer is sent off to be slaughtered and the characters trust Squealer when he says Boxer is being taking off to a hospital, but the reader knows the truth. This is an example of which type of irony? Explain.

31. What type of irony is used to criticize dictatorship and communism in the passage below from George Orwell’s Animal Farm?

“No animal shall sleep in a bed” becomes “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. They start drinking, and “No animal may drink alcohol” soon becomes “No animal may drink alcohol to excess. A good example is when the pigs begin to walk, something that they vowed they would never do, or when they got drunk, again doing something they vowed they would never do.

32. The following words are examples of which literary device?
ZIP, RUSTLE, GARGLE, BUZZ, MOO, HISS, SWISH, BOOM, CRASH, SPLAT, TAP

33. Setting is analyzed in terms of what three elements?

34. What are some examples of internal conflict in Shakespeare’s Hamlet?

35. What are some examples of external, man versus man conflict in George Orwell’s Animal Farm?

36. What are some examples of external, man versus nature conflict in the Greek myth of “Prometheus and Io?

37. What are some examples of internal, man versus himself conflict in Elie Wiesel’s Night ?

38. What are some examples of external, man versus society conflict in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World ?

39. In Huxley’s Brave New World, Bernard's dislike of everything in society (________vs.________) and his dislike of his own physical shape (________vs._________) – are not very significant in contrast to those deep conflicts that are later introduced in relation to the Savage.

INDEPENDENT READING SECTION: Choose the questions that apply to the novel you read.

40. The following excerpt is an example of George Orwell’s use of ________________ and _______________ in his satiric novel 1984:

The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a meter wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs.

41. What are the major themes explored in Orwell’s 1984?

42. What literary techniques does Orwell use to illustrate his major points about humanity and society?


40. The following excerpt is an example of William Golding’s use of _________________ and _______________ in his satiric novel The Lord of the Flies.

The three boys walked briskly on the sand. The tide was low and there was a strip of weed-strewn beach that was almost as firm as a road. A kind of glamour was spread over them and the scene and they were conscious of the glamour and made happy by it. They turned to each other, laughing excitedly, talking, not listening. The air was bright.

41. What are the major themes explored in The Lord of the Flies?

42. What literary techniques does Golding use to illustrate his major points about humanity and society?

Note to Absentees on Writing Portfolio Day

Any student who was absent in class today, June 5th, will need a doctor's note in order to submit his or her portfolio on Monday. Portfolios without a doctor's note will not be accepted. No exceptions.

Check the blog this weekend for study/review questions for the final exam, which is Friday, June 12.