CLEP Humanities : Answering Other Questions About Twentieth-Century Fiction

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Twentieth Century Fiction

The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to an author for __________.

Possible Answers:

a singular achievement in composing one poem

an author's literary output in a single year

an entire career of literary achievement

excellent work in multiple genres

a singular achievement in composing one novel

Correct answer:

an entire career of literary achievement

Explanation:

The Nobel Prize in Literature, first established by Alfred Nobel's will in 1895, rewards authors for their total "work," which is read by the prize committee to mean an author's entire output for their career. The Nobel prize can be given to an author working in any field of literature, be it fiction, poetry, or even nonfiction. Usually, the Nobel Prize is seen as capping the career of an author, and is awarded usually to older writers.

Example Question #2 : Fiction

Which twentieth-century novel features a detailed rumination on “kitsch"?

Possible Answers:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Swell Season

All Quiet on the Western Front

Pale Fire

The Stranger

Correct answer:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Explanation:

Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being features the 1968 Prague spring uprising as a background story for its characters' lives. The novel also discusses many philosophical themes, particularly the low-art known as "kitsch." Kundera's discussion of kitsch helps reflect on the "lightness" in the title of the novel.

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Twentieth Century Fiction

In a novel, a narrator that can see every event and understands every character's motivation is describes as a __________.

Possible Answers:

first person narrator

second person narrator

multiple first person narrators

third person omniscient narrator

third person limited narrator

Correct answer:

third person omniscient narrator

Explanation:

A third person narrator describes a narrator whose perspective is from outside any individual's own thoughts. An omniscient narrator describes a narrator that knows and understands every event and character motivation. This is one of the most common kinds of narration, along with first person narration, which is told from the point of view of a single character. A third person limited omniscient narrator has a perspective from outside, but can only understand the motivation of one, primary character. A first person narrator uses "I" and narrates from one character's perspective. A second person narrator uses "you." 

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