GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of American Prose After 1925

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English

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All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 158 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Example Questions

Example Question #61 : Contexts Of American Prose

Who is the author of The Grapes of Wrath?

Possible Answers:

Philip Roth

John Dos Passos

John Steinbeck

Jack Kerouac

Richard Ford

Correct answer:

John Steinbeck

Explanation:

The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is the fifth major novel by John Steinbeck (1902-1968).

Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road (1957), John Dos Passos wrote A Pushcart at the Curb (1922), Richard Ford wrote Independence Day (1995), and Philip Roth wrote The Prague Orgy (1985)

All of these authors are American novelists who were active in the 20th century.

Example Question #62 : Contexts Of American Prose

Which of the following is not another novel by the author of The Grapes of Wrath?

Possible Answers:

East of Eden

In Dubious Battle

Cannery Row

Of Mice and Men

The 42nd Parallel

Correct answer:

The 42nd Parallel

Explanation:

In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), East of Eden (1952), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and Cannery Row (1945) are all by John Steinbeck. The 42nd Parallel is a 1930 novel by John Dos Passos.

Example Question #63 : Contexts Of American Prose

Which of the following is a novella by the author of The Grapes of Wrath?

Possible Answers:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Miracle on 34th Street

In Watermelon Sugar

Billy Budd

The Pearl

Correct answer:

The Pearl

Explanation:

While all of these titles are novellas, only The Pearl (1947) is by John Steinbeck, who also wrote The Grapes of Wrath (1939).

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) is by Valentine Davies, Billy Budd (1924) is by Herman Melville, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) is by Truman Capote, and In Watermelon Sugar (1968) is by Richard Brautigan.

Example Question #64 : Contexts Of American Prose

Who is the author of Angle of Repose?

Possible Answers:

John Hawkes

John Fowles

Wallace Stegner

James Michener

E. Annie Proulx

Correct answer:

Wallace Stegner

Explanation:

Angle of Repose (1971) is the tenth novel of American author Wallace Stegner (1909-1993).

James Michener wrote Tales of the South Pacific (1947) (he was also a noted patron of the arts and the founder of the Michener Foundation), E. Annie Proulx wrote Postcards (1992), John Hawkes wrote The Cannibal (1949), and John Fowles wrote The Collector (1963).

Example Question #125 : Contexts Of Prose

When was Angle of Repose published?

Possible Answers:

1940s

1960s

1950s

1970s

1980s

Correct answer:

1970s

Explanation:

Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose was published in 1971 and won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Example Question #65 : Contexts Of American Prose

Which of the following is not another work by the author of Angle of Repose?

Possible Answers:

A Confederacy of Dunces

The Big Rock Candy Mountain

The Spectator Bird

On a Darkling Plain

All the Little Live Things

Correct answer:

A Confederacy of Dunces

Explanation:

The Big Rock Candy Mountain (1943), On a Darkling Plain (1940), All the Little Live Things (1967), Angle of Repose (1971) and The Spectator Bird (1967) are by Wallace Stegner. A Confederacy of Dunces is a famous 1980 novel by John Kennedy Toole.

Example Question #66 : Contexts Of American Prose

With which region is the author of Angle of Repose most closely associated?

Possible Answers:

The American Southwest

The American Midwest

The American West

The South Pacific

Continental Europe

Correct answer:

The American West

Explanation:

Wallace Stegner has been known as “the dean of Western writers” and had close ties with the University of Utah during his life. Angle of Repose (1971) is one of his many works set in the American West.

Example Question #67 : Contexts Of American Prose

Who is the author of Sophie’s Choice?

Possible Answers:

William Styron

James Michener

William Kennedy

John Kennedy Toole

John Fowles

Correct answer:

William Styron

Explanation:

Sophie’s Choice (1979) is William Styron’s sixth novel and is the winner of the 1980 National Book Award. It concerns a tragic decision that the eponymous heroine had to make during the Holocaust.

James Michener wrote The Drifters (1971), William Kennedy wrote The Ink Truck (1969), John Kennedy Toole wrote A Confederacy of Dunces (1980), and John Fowles wrote The Ebony Tower (1974).

Example Question #71 : Contexts Of American Prose

What is the title of another work by the author of Sophie’s Choice?

Possible Answers:

Chesapeake

The Confessions of Nat Turner

Caravans

Tales of the South Pacific

The Drifters

Correct answer:

The Confessions of Nat Turner

Explanation:

The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967)  and Sophie’s Choice (1979) are both novels by William Styron. The rest are all titles by American author James Michener.

Chesapeake was published in 1978, Tales of the South Pacific was published in 1947, The Drifters was published in 1971, and Caravans was published in 1963.

Example Question #551 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English

What major American city is the setting of Sophie’s Choice?

Possible Answers:

Cincinnati

San Francisco

Oakland

Brooklyn

Detroit

Correct answer:

Brooklyn

Explanation:

William Styron's Sophie’s Choice (1979) is set in Brooklyn, although past action was set in Auschwitz and several scenes occur outside New York City.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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