Chapter 5 American Literature.doc

Chapter 5 American LiteratureExercisesI. Explain the following in English:1. The Letherstocking Tales2. Transcendentalists3. Walden4. The Scarlet Letter5. Moby Dick6. Leaves of Grass7. Mark Twain8. the naturalists9. The Waste Land10. the Lost Generation1 1. the Harlem Renaissance12. the Beat GenerationII. Fill in the blanks:1. and are the two major writers of the post-Revolutionary period.2. The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher were stories written by3. In 1852, a New England woman named Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel titled , which intensified the political debate on slavery.4 Mark Twains is considered the greatest novel in American literature.5.Henry James major works include and . His works often described Americans living in6. Upton Sinclairs novel exposed the horrible lives of meat-packing factory workers.7. Ezra Pounds poetry is famous for , the use of strong, concrete images.8. T. S. Eliots long poem revealed a pessimistic view of post-World War I society. He dominated so-called movement in poetry.9. After World War I, many novelists produced literary works of disillusionment. Some of them lived abroad and were known as the 10. F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel was about youths golden dream turning to disappointment.11. Name three novels written by Ernest Hemingway: and12. The Sound and the Fury was written by , whose prose style was experimental.13. Name two plays written by Eugene ONeill: and14 John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath was a portrait of a poor family during the period of15. Richard Wright wrote the novel , and Ralph Ellison wrote the novel . Both were writers.16. The representative work of the Beat Generation was Alan Ginsbergs poem17. won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, the first Afro-American writer to receive this honor.Two of her best novels are andIII. Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions:l. Which of the following was a writer of the post-Revolutionary period?A. Edgar Allan PoeB. Natty BumppoC. Washington IrvingD. Rip Van Winkle2. Which of the following is considered an American masterpiece?A. The Last of the MohicansB. The Legend of the Sleepy HollowC. The Masque of the Red DeathD. Moby Dick3. Which of the following was written by Thoreau?A. NatureB. WaldenC. The Scarlet LetterD. The Fall of the House of Usher4. Whitmans poetry has the following characteristics exceptA. fragmented haunting imagesB. long irregular linesC. celebrating the American spiritD. free-flowing structure5. Mark Twains works are characterized by the following exceptA. sense of humorB. egotismC. jokesD. tall tales6, Three of the following are characteristics of Emily Dickinsons poems. Which one is not?A. Her poems mix gaiety and gloom.B. Her verses are filled with the names of faraway, exotic places.C. Her poems are very long and powerful.D. Her poems show that she was fascinated by both life and death.7. was mainly interested in writing about Americans living in Europe.A. Henry JamesB. Mark TwainC. William Dean HowellsD. Stephen Crane8. is NOT included in the group of naturalists.A. Sherwood AndersonB. Stephen CraneC. Jack LondonD. Theodore Dreiser9. Three of the following authors are Nobel Prize winners. Which one is not.A. Ernest HemingwayB. Eugene ONeillC. William FaulknerD. F. Scott Fitzgerald10._does NOT belong to the Lost Generation.A. John Dos Passos B. Ernest HemingwayC. F. Scott Fitzgerald D. John Steinbeck11. was NOT written by Hemingway.A. Light in AugustB. The Sun Also RisesC. A Farewell to ArmsD. For Whom the Bell Tolls12. Which of the following is NOT a black author?A. Richard WrightB. Alan GinsbergC. James BaldwinD. Ralph Ellison13. The following authors were women writers who wrote novels in the late 19th and early 20th century with exception of_.A. Emily Dickinson B. Edith WhartonC. Willa Cather D. Kate Chopin14. The following writers represent new American voices exceptA. Toni Morrison B. Alice Walker C. T. S. Eliot D. Maxine Long KingstonQuestions for Thought1. What is the main theme in American literature according to the author? How does the author illustrate his point?2. What theories does Ralph Emerson explain in his essays? Why are they so influential?3. Why is Walt Whitman considered one of the most important poets in America?4. Why did Mark Twain win so many readers both at home and abroad?5. What are some of the major themes in novels written by the Lost Generation ?Key:Chapter 5I. Explain the following:l. the Letherstocking TalesThey refer to the five novels written by Fenimore Cooper: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans,The Prairie, The Pathfinder and The Deerslaver, which tell stories about the hero Natty Bumppo. He was a fabulous woodsman, always wearing letherstockings.2. TranscendentalistsIn his book Nature, Emerson claimed that by studying and responding to nature individuals could reach a higher spiritual state without formal religion. A circle of intellectuals who were discontented with the New England establishment gathered around Emerson. They accepted Emersons theories about spiritual transcendence. They are known as Transcendentalists.3. WaldenHenry David Thoreau was one of Emersons gifted fellow-thinkers. He was passionate about individuals learning to think for themselves and being independent. He carried out this ideal by going to live by himself for two years in simple cabin beside a wooded pond named Walden. He spent the two years in labor and solitary meditation. He wrote about this experience in his book Walden.4. The Scarlet LetterA novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set in the Puritan past, this masterpiece is the stark drama of a woman harshly cast out from her community for committing the sin of adultery. In this novel Hawthorne explored certain moral themes such as guilt, pride and emotional repression.5.Moby DickA novel written by Herman Melville. Moby Dick is the name of a big white whale. In this book, the author uses a story of a whaling voyage to explore profound themes such as fate, the nature of evil,and the individuals struggle against the universe. The novel Moby Dick is considered an American masterpiece.6. Leaves of GrassA collection of poems written by Walt Whitman. It is a ground-breaking book. Whitman used free flowing structures and long, irregular lines in his poetry. He ventured beyond traditional forms to meet his need for more space to express the American spirit. In one of the poems Song of Myself he dwelt on himself because he saw himself as a prototype of The American.7. Mark TwainMark Twain is the pen name of Samuel Clemens. He was one of the greatest American writers. He captured a peculiarly American sense of humor. He represented a new American voice. His major work was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1 884)which has been called the greatest novel in American literature.8. the naturalistsThey were novelists who concentrated upon the grim aspects of reality and a deterministic view of life. They were linked with European naturalists such as French novelist Zola. The most representative naturalists in American literature were Stephen Crane. Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London.9. The Waste LandThis is a long poem published by T. S. Eliot in 1922. Using fragmented, haunting images and a dense structure of symbols, it revealed a pessimistic vision of post-World War I society. With the publication of The Waste Land. Eliot dominated the so-called Modern movement in poetry.10. the Lost GenerationIn the aftermath of World War I. many novelists produced a literature of disillusionment . Some lived abroad. They were known as the Lost Generation. The two most representative writers of the Lost Generation were Hemingway and Fitzgeral.11. the Harlem RenaissanceThe 1920s saw the rise of an artistic black community centered in Harlem, a black neighborhood in New York City. Magazines and newspapers dedicated to the black writing sprang up in Harlem. Black poets such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen wrote about what it meant to be black. The Harlem Renaissance gave African-American culture prominence and an impetus to grow.12. The Beat GenerationThe Beat Generation was made up of a group of young writers in the 1950s based in San Francisco. The name referred simultaneously to the rhythm of Jazz music, to their sense that society was worn out, to the interest in new for