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 #576 : Gre Subject Test: Literature In English

Which of the following is another work by the author of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter?

Possible Answers:

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Parker’s Back

The Lame Shall Enter First

A Good Man Is Hard To Find

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Correct answer:

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Explanation:

The Ballad of the Sad Café is a 1951 collection containing a novella, poems, plays, and several short stories. (The rest of these titles belong to short stories by Southern writer Flannery O’Connor.)

Example Question #101 : Contexts Of American Prose

The title of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter comes from a poem by which Scottish poet?

Possible Answers:

Dylan Thomas

Robert Burns

Fiona Macleod

W.B. Yeats

Mary Astell

Correct answer:

Fiona Macleod

Explanation:

Carson McCullers’ title is taken directly from Fiona Macleod’s 1896 poem “The Lonely Hunter.” This answer gives you a helpful clue to narrow down the answer choices: The poet must be Scottish. Dylan Thomas was Welsh, W.B. Yeats was Irish, and Mary Astell was English.

Example Question #101 : Contexts Of American Prose

Who is the author of The Moviegoer?

Possible Answers:

John Updike

Truman Capote

Robert Penn Warren

Nicholson Baker

Walker Percy

Correct answer:

Walker Percy

Explanation:

The Moviegoer (1961) is a National Book Award-winning novel by the Louisiana author Walker Percy (1916-1990).

Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood (1965), Nicholson Baker wrote The Anthologist (2009), Robert Penn Warren wrote All the King's Men (1946), and John Updike wrote Rabbit, Run (1960).

Example Question #91 : Contexts Of American Prose After 1925

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

Possible Answers:

The Thanatos Syndrome

Love in the Ruins

The Last Gentleman

Lost in the Cosmos

The Neon Bible

Correct answer:

The Neon Bible

Explanation:

Love in the Ruins (1971), The Thanatos Syndrome (1987), The Last Gentleman (1966), and Lost in the Cosmos (1983) are all novels by Walker Percy. The Neon Bible (1989) is the little-known first novel of John Kennedy Toole.

Example Question #104 : Contexts Of American Prose

In what region of the United States is The Moviegoer set?

Possible Answers:

the West

Alaska

the Northeast

the Midwest

the South

Correct answer:

the South

Explanation:

Like many of Percy’s other novels, The Moviegoer (1961) is set in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Example Question #105 : Contexts Of American Prose

Who is the author of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter?

Possible Answers:

Carson McCullers

John Irving

Eudora Welty

John Updike

Ayn Rand

Correct answer:

Carson McCullers

Explanation:

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) is the first novel by American author Carson McCullers (1917-1967).

Example Question #1 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Which of the following is not another work by the author of The English Patient?

Possible Answers:

In the Skin of a Lion

Divisadero

Oryx and Crake

Coming Through Slaughter

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems

Correct answer:

Oryx and Crake

Explanation:

Ondaatje wrote Coming Through Slaughter (1976), In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Divisadero (2007), and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems (1970). He did not write Oryx and Crake, a 2003 novel by Margaret Atwood. 

Example Question #2 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

What country is the author of Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage from?

Possible Answers:

Canada

Ireland

Denmark

New Zealand

Scotland

Correct answer:

Canada

Explanation:

Alice Munro is a Nobel Prize-winning Canadian writer.

Example Question #1 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Who is the author of The Handmaid’s Tale?

Possible Answers:

Pat Barker

Ursula K. Le Guin

Alice Munro

Margaret Atwood

Angela Carter

Correct answer:

Margaret Atwood

Explanation:

The Handmaid’s Tale is Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s sixth novel.

Alice Munro (also Canadian) wrote Lives of Girls and Women (1971), Ursula K. LeGuin wrote The Dispossessed (1974), Pat Barker wrote The Regeneration Trilogy (1991, 1993, 1995), and Angela Carter wrote The Passion of New Eve (1977).

Example Question #2 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Which of the following fields of study is most relevant to studying the The Handmaid’s Tale?

Possible Answers:

Archaeology

Religious studies

Chemistry

Race studies

Feminism

Correct answer:

Feminism

Explanation:

While it does contain some religious references, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is first and foremost a feminist novel that discusses gender dynamics, power, sexuality, and reproductive rights.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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