All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #41 : Contexts Of American Prose
Who is the author of The Corrections?
Jonathan Franzen
John Cheever
Raymond Carver
Raymond Chandler
Philip Roth
Jonathan Franzen
The Corrections (2001) is American novelist Jonathan Franzen’s third novel.
Raymond Carver wrote Where I'm Calling From (1988), Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep (1939), Phillip Roth wrote The Ghostwriter (1979, and John Cheever wrote Oh What A Paradise It Seems (1982).
Example Question #42 : Contexts Of American Prose
Who wrote Portnoy’s Complaint?
Saul Bellow
Don DeLillo
John Updike
Philip Roth
David Foster Wallace
Philip Roth
Portnoy’s Complaint (1969) is one of Philip Roth’s most famous novels.
Don DeLillo wrote White Noise (1985), Saul Bellow wrote Herzog (1964), John Updike wrote Rabbit, Run (1960), and David Foster Wallace wrote Infinite Jest (1996).
Example Question #43 : Contexts Of American Prose
Which of the following elements of Portnoy’s Complaint resulted in its frequent banning in America and abroad?
Explicit depictions of sexuality
Violent imagery
A Jewish protagonist
A treasonous protagonist
A subversive plot
Explicit depictions of sexuality
Although the book does contain a Jewish protagonist, Portnoy’s Complaint (1969) was most commonly banned for its explicit depictions of masturbation and other elements of human sexuality.
Example Question #44 : Contexts Of American Prose
Who is the author of the short story “Cathedral”?
Thomas Wolfe
Raymond Carver
Thomas Pynchon
Saul Bellow
Don DeLillo
Raymond Carver
“Cathedral,” (1983) a story about a blind man and a husband and wife, is one of the most famous works by American writer Raymond Carver (1938-1988).
Don DeLillo wrote White Noise (1985), Saul Bellow wrote Herzog (1964), Thomas Pynchon wrote Gravity's Rainbow (1973), and Thomas Wolfe wrote The Right Stuff (1979).
Example Question #45 : Contexts Of American Prose
Which of the following is not another work by the author of the short story “Cathedral”?
“The Swimmer”
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”
“So Much Water So Close to Home”
“Neighbors”
“Where I’m Calling From”
“The Swimmer”
“The Swimmer” is a 1964 story by the American writer John Cheever. All the rest are well known works by Raymond Carver.
“So Much Water So Close to Home” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” were included in Carver's 1981 collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. "Neighbors" was included in Carver's 1976 collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?. “Where I’m Calling From” was the titular story in the short story collection Carver published just before his death in 1988.
Example Question #46 : Contexts Of American Prose
How could the prose style of the author of “Cathedral” best be described?
Garrulous
Minimalistic
Fantastical
Prolix
Anaphoric
Minimalistic
Although the term "minimalism" offended and bothered him, like Ernest Hemingway, Mary Robison, and Amy Hempel, Raymond Carver is known for his sparse, minimalist prose style and commitment to brevity and syntactic conciseness.
Example Question #47 : Contexts Of American Prose
Who is the famous Esquire editor known for working with the author of “Cathedral”?
Max Perkins
Gordon Lish
Michael Pietsch
Ezra Pound
Max Brod
Gordon Lish
While all of these men worked as editors, Gordon Lish is the editor known for paring down Raymond Carver’s work and contributing significantly to the author’s hallmark terseness in his collections prior to Cathedral (1983). After splitting with Lish, Carver's work took on a more hopeful, expansive tone.
Example Question #48 : Contexts Of American Prose
During what decade was “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” published?
1980s
1960s
1990s
1970s
1950s
1960s
This question is particularly tricky, since Joyce Carol Oates has had a very long and prolific writing career. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” was first published in Epoch Magazine in 1966 and has since been anthologized frequently.
Example Question #51 : Contexts Of American Prose
To which famous American musician is “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” dedicated?
Aretha Franklin
Bob Dylan
Ray Charles
Elvis Presley
Arlo Guthrie
Bob Dylan
According to Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” (1966) was inspired in part by four real murders in Tucson, Ariz., and in part by Bob Dylan’s song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” (1965).
Example Question #52 : Contexts Of American Prose
Who is the author of The Fountainhead?
Kate Chopin
Leon Trotsky
Ayn Rand
Anton Chekhov
Barbara Kingsolver
Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead (1943) is Ayn Rand’s best-selling second novel. It concerns the independent, cutthroat architect Howard Roark; his idealistic lover, Dominique Francon; and his competitor, the sycophantic Peter Keating.
Leon Trotsky wrote My Life (1930), Anton Chekhov wrote The Duel (1891), Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening (1899), and Barbara Kingsolver wrote The Poisonwood Bible (1998).
Certified Tutor
Certified Tutor