GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of Prose

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 #66 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

Who is the author of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”?

Possible Answers:

T.C. Boyle

Ernest Hemingway

Gertrude Stein

William Faulkner

Thomas McGuane

Correct answer:

Ernest Hemingway

Explanation:

This is one of the most famous stories by the American expatriate author Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” was published in 1933.

Gertrude Stein wrote Tender Buttons (1914), William Faulkner wrote The Sound and the Fury (1929), Thomas McGuane wrote The Sporting Club (1969), and T.C. Boyle wrote World's End (1987).

Example Question #67 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

Which of the following is not a novel by the author of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”?

Possible Answers:

The Making of Americans

The Garden of Eden

For Whom the Bell Tolls

A Farewell to Arms

The Sun Also Rises

Correct answer:

The Making of Americans

Explanation:

The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940),“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” (1933) and The Garden of Eden (1986) are all by Ernest Hemingway. The Making of Americans is a 1925 work by Gertrude Stein.

Example Question #82 : Contexts Of American Prose

In which decade was “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” published?

Possible Answers:

1960s

1980s

1930s

1970s

1900s

Correct answer:

1930s

Explanation:

“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” was published in 1933. Hemingway died in 1961. His first publication (in book form) came in 1923.

Example Question #71 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

Which of the following is not another short story by the author of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”?

Possible Answers:

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”

“Big Two-Hearted River”

“Dry September”

“Hills Like White Elephants”

“The Snows of Kilimanjaro”

Correct answer:

“Dry September”

Explanation:

“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936), “Hills Like White Elephants” (1927), “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” (1936), “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” (1933), and “Big Two-Hearted River” (1925) are all works by Ernest Hemingway. “Dry September” is by William Faulkner (1931).

Example Question #72 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

What country is the setting of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”?

Possible Answers:

India

Spain

China

The United States

Tanzania

Correct answer:

Spain

Explanation:

Hemingway's “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” (1933) takes place in an unnamed café in Spain. While Hemingway did set some stories in Africa and the United States, his reputation from the interwar years is primarily as a expatriate writer in continental Europe.

Example Question #73 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

Which of the following works by the same author shares the setting of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”?

Possible Answers:

A Moveable Feast

The Old Man and the Sea

True at First Light

Across the River and Into the Trees

The Sun Also Rises

Correct answer:

The Sun Also Rises

Explanation:

The Sun Also Rises (1926) is set in several cities in Spain. The Old Man and the Sea (1952) is set off the coast of Cuba, Across the River and Into the Trees (1950) is set in Italy, True at First Light (1999) is set in East Africa, A Moveable Feast (1964) is set primarily in Paris (as it is Hemingway's memoir of his expatriate life in the 1920s).

Example Question #146 : Contexts Of Prose

During what decade was Fahrenheit 451 published?

Possible Answers:

1950s

1990s

1980s

1960s

1970s

Correct answer:

1950s

Explanation:

The novel was published in 1953 amidst real threats of book burning, censorship, and McCarthyism in America.

Example Question #85 : Contexts Of American Prose

During what decade was The Bushwhacked Piano published? 

Possible Answers:

1940s

1930s

1970s

1950s

1960s

Correct answer:

1970s

Explanation:

This novel, McGuane’s second, was first published in 1971. You might have been able to narrow down the options by recognizing that McGuane was not born until 1939.

Example Question #567 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English

When was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas published?

Possible Answers:

1950s

1990s

1970s

1980s

1960s

Correct answer:

1970s

Explanation:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was first published in 1971, making it a very early reflection on the countercultural events of the 1960s.

Example Question #74 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

The author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was one of the founders of which school of journalism?

Possible Answers:

New

convergence

churnalism

sports

Gonzo

Correct answer:

Gonzo

Explanation:

Hunter S. Thompson was known for popularizing Gonzo journalism, a style of writing in which the journalist does not claim to be objective but rather actively participates in the story. Gonzo journalism is also known for its crude language, lack of detachment, and use of humor and sarcasm. 

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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