ENGL 349 Final Examination - Questions

Blue books will be provided. Please bring a couple pens. Also bring a 3x5 index card crib sheet for the essay portion (see below). The examination breaks into three sections.

I. Identification and Discussion (30 pts.)

Instructions: for each of the following passages (18) below, identify a. the author (full name) b. the text (full title) For passages w, x, y, & z (4 selected passages), discuss in three or four sentences the significance of the passage. Connect your discussion to our class discussion of the novel.

II. Definition and Application (30 pts. - 3 questions)

List the central characteristics of [the sentimental novel, the romance, the realist novel]. Among the novels we have read this semester, which seems the strongest example of this genre? Among the novels we have read this semester, which seems the farthest from this genre? In five to six sentences, defend your answers.

III. Essay (40 pts.)

Answer one of the following cumulative essay questions. Articulate your essay as an argumentative response to the question and develop your argument through explicit comparisons between the novels. Be as concrete and specific as possible in providing evidence to back up your claims--paraphrases, quotations, reference to particular incidents, etc. You are required to bring a 3" x 5 index card to the examination with you with notes on the front and back for the essay. It can contain whatever you want: an outline, quotations you want to use, notes, etc. Use one side for notes on one possible essay, the other side for another. I will ask you to turn in the index card with the exam. Note - only two of the following three prompts will appear on the examination.

Possible Essay Questions A. The architectural premise form follows function (coined by Louis Sullivan in 1896: form ever follows function) suggests that the style of a building grows out of the function it serves. This idea can be applied to novels as well to help us to understand the relationship between how the novel is put together (its style, narrative structure, modes of characterization, etc.) and the cultural work it appears to be doing. Discussing at least four novels we have read in the class and, taking into account their respective genres and their cultural and historical contexts, in comparison, how would you characterize the form of these novels? What is the function of each novel? How does form advance that function? B. The appearance/reality dichotomy is clearly a perennial concern in literature (consider Hamlets ruminations on seeming, for example). The novels we have studied revolve in some sense around tensions between appearance and reality, and through these tensions they speak with particular force to the issues of their day. They often (seem to) peel back the veneer of life in America in order to demystify its inner workings. But at the same time that a novel lifts the veil on one or more features of modern life, it may also leave other veils unlifted. A novel may, perhaps, even serve to shore up some of societys key mystifications, either by directly endorsing them or perhaps by leaving them unexamined altogether and, thus, give them tacit assent. Discussing at least four novels we have read over the semester, answer the following questions: How do these novels mobilize the dichotomy of appearance and reality in order to comment on (and perhaps intervene in) pressing issues of their time? In lifting some veils, do these novels also leave others unlifted? Finally, how does genre interact with how these novels engage the appearance/reality split? C. Nearly all the novels we have read invest in some way in the idea of the home -people move into and out of houses, houses are appointed in particular ways, homes are violated, homes are not "homes", and so on. Perhaps the pervasiveness of the idea of the home in these texts is due to home's status as nodal point within a web of important identity concerns: gender, race, class, nationality, sexuality, and so on. Thus to speak of or represent homes is also to speak of or represent identity concerns and probably more than one at a time. Discussing at least four novels we have read over the semester, answer the following questions: How do these novels represent the home? What is at stake (think about the identity categories above) in these representations of the home? Finally, how does genre interact with how these novels represent the home?

ENGL 349: Final Examination Essay Scoring Guide

Grade A 37-40 pts. Defining Characteristics articulates a clear and sophisticated thesis addressing the prompt patiently develops an argument that carefully articulates its claims puts the literary texts it discusses into conversation with one another offers very carefully selected literary evidence (quotations, paraphrases, incidents, etc.) develops nuanced and compelling interpretations of and elaborations on the evidence features rhetorically-sophisticated sentences; logical and artful transitions; precise syntax; and apt, precise, and vivid word choice. articulates a clear thesis addressing the prompt presents a logical argument that features clearly-marked claims makes connections between the literary texts it discusses offers reasonable, though perhaps not always especially compelling, literary evidence (quotations, paraphrases, incidents, etc.) develops valid interpretations and measured elaborations on the evidence, with only a rare lapse in this department features some rhetorically-sophisticated sentences and fairly effectively transitions between sentences and paragraphs, but may have a few awkward or unclear constructions and may make ineffective choices in diction. offers an overly general or unclear thesis or controlling idea and may not address the prompt fully may present a rudimentary or pro forma argument may separate and compartmentalize discussions of the literary texts may make overly general and/or vague claims may offer thin evidence may lack clear and logical connections between claims and evidence may feature awkward or confusing sentences, may very weakly transition between ideas, and /or may use terms and words imprecisely does not address the prompt as directed may wander through or stack ideas rather than articulating an argument offers very loosely defined and developed ideas

B 33-36 pts.

C 29-32 pts.

D/F 0-28 pts.