Unit 5 Evaluation

PART A: AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION

Identify the author of each passage.

1. “Suddenly he felt himself whirled round and round—spinning like a top. The water, the banks, the forests, the now distant bridge, fort, and men—all were commingled and blurred.”

a. Mark Twain
b. Ambrose Bierce
c. Paul Laurence Dunbar
d. Stephen Crane

2. “Oh, for thy voice high-sounding o’er the storm, / For thy strong art to guide the shivering bark, / The blast-defying power of they form, / To give us comfort through the lonely dark.”

a. Mark Twain
b. Ambrose Bierce
c. Paul Laurence Dunbar
d. Stephen Crane

3. “When a circus came and went, it left us all burning to become clowns; the first Negro minstrel show that came to our section left us all suffering to try that kind of life.”

a. Mark Twain
b. Ambrose Bierce
c. Paul Laurence Dunbar
d.Stephen Crane

4. “Lots of the boys here has seen that Smiley, and can tell you about him. Why, it never made no different to him—he’d bet on any thing—the dangdest feller.”

a. Mark Twain
b. Ambrose Bierce
c. Paul Laurence Dunbar
d. Stephen Crane

5. “He wore the look of one who knows he is the victim of a terrible disease and understands his helplessness.”

a. Mark Twain
b. Ambrose Bierce
c. Paul Laurence Dunbar
d. Stephen Crane

PART B: MULTIPLE-CHOICE

Select the best answer for each question.

6. Local color refers to which of the following?

a. the type of rhythm used in writing
b. a writer’s early works
c. new authors who change literary traditions
d. attention to regional dialects and dialect in a work

7. An element of local color in “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is

a. the intentional use of incorrect spelling in dialogue.
b. the representation of nature by the frog.
c. the interaction between the main character and the frog.
d. the fact that the story could occur in any setting.

8. A function of the local color writers is

a. developing the technique of personification.
b. expressing regional culture to the entire community.
c. the use of parables.
d. making moral arguments about life.

9. Local color literature is a forerunner of realism because

a. local color required realistic descriptions of places.
b. local color created scenes that were unique to particular places.
c. local color stressed the importance of a character’s situation.
d. of all of the above.

10. Which of the following is a characteristic of realism?

a. Characters have no control over their lives.
b. Nature is an antagonist that works against people.
c. Deeper meanings of routine are examined.
d. Characters do not have names.

11. Which of the following is a characteristic of naturalism?

a. Characters have no control over their lives.
b. Deeper meanings of routine are examined.
c. Characters are uncertain about life.
d. Typical routines are a matter of interest.

12. The naturalist idea that life is a struggle to survive came from the ideas of

a. Charles Darwin.
b. Jim Baker.
c. Simon Wheeler.
d. John Oakhurst.

13. In “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Mark Twain creates humor by

a. imagining the languages in which frogs, cats, and birds speak.
b. using comic dialect.
c. describing himself during his childhood years.
d. using dialogue to tell jokes.

14. The metaphors, similes, and comparisons in “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” are

a. frightening.
b. grim.
c. humorous.
d. ineffective.

15. How many narrators are used in “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”?

a. one
b. three
c. four
d. two

16. Who is the narrator of Life on the Mississippi?

a. Mark Twain
b. Simon Wheeler
c. St. Looey
d. Lleyton Pennypacker

17. Which statement best describes the narrator in Life on the Mississippi?

a. The narrator is very serious.
b. The narrator is amused and agitated by the memories of his childhood.
c. The narrator regrets the passing of youth.
d. The narrator presents a moral argument in favor of strict authority.

18. All but which of the following describe “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”?

a. The story is full of vivid detail and imagery.
b. The story explores a person’s thoughts.
c. The story unfolds through dialogue.
d. The story withholds specific details to create suspense.

19. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” why is Farquhar facing the death penalty?

a. He helped a slave to escape.
b. He betrayed his regiment in the Confederate Army to the Union Forces.
c. He deserted from the Union Army.
d. He tried to aid Confederate forces in the Civil War.

20. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” all but which of the following details show Farquhar’s imagination at work?

a. his observations that the river is flowing slowly
b. the description of the sentinels
c. the intense pain that the ticking of his watch causes
d. the slowness of the ticking of the watch

21. Whom does Farquhar think of in his very last thought?

a. his son
b. his daughter
c. his wife
d.the soldiers he betrayed

22. In “An  Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Farquhar’s escape takes place

a. when he shoots a Union officer.
b. when a dog bites a Union officer.
c. only in his mind.
d. when the Confederate forces ambush the bridge.

23. An element of local color in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is

a. Farquhar’s dedication to the Confederate cause.
b. the use of northern phrases by the Union soldiers.
c. the element of suspense in the story.
d. the use of humor in the story.

24. “Douglass” expresses a realist tendency because

a. the poem expresses uncertainty about the current situation.
b. the poem suggests that people are the helpless pawns of nature.
c. the poem suggests that only the strong survive.
d. nature is an antagonist in the poem.

25. “Douglass” expresses a wish for

a. death.
b. peace.
c. darkness.
d. a strong leader.

26. What activity opens the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”?

a. A Southern spy is put on trial.
b. A man is about to be hanged.
c. Union soldiers are fixing a bridge.
d. Troops are laying railroad tracks.

27. What must readers figure out in order to understand “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”?

a. how the characters act
b. the setting and the mood
c. the order of the events
d. the reason for the hanging

28. Which of the following contributes most to the mystery of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”?

a. the breaking of the hangman’s noose
b. the shooting by the Union sentries
c. Farquhar’s underwater struggle
d. the order in which events occur

29. In “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” why does Farquhar hear his watch ticking as he dies?

a. He hopes the watch will start to work.
b. He wants to know his time of death.
c. His senses are extra strong before death.
d. Everything else around him is quiet.

30. Determine the meaning of this regional dialect from “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County:” “He roused up, and gave me good day.”

a. He woke up and gave me the time.
b. He stood up and greeted me.
c. He went and made some food for us.
d. He showed me around the town.

31. Which aspect of “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” makes the story humorous?

a. The wild story is told in a voice that has no expression.
b. The story is so unbelievable it is not even funny.
c. The narrator believes it is a true story instead of a tall tale.
d. The narrator falls asleep as he is listening to the story.

32. Determine which statement best rephrases the following  sentence from “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”: “And he had a little small bull-pup, that to look at him you’d think he warn’t worth a cent but to set around and look ornery and lay for a chance to steal something.”

a. He had a small dog that was pretty worthless but he kept him around for protection.
b. He had a small dog that looked like he hadn’t cost a thing and had probably been stolen.
c. He had a small dog whose job was to look fearsome and lie in wait to snatch something for nothing.
d. He had a small dog that he kept trying to sell for more money than the creature was worth.

33. In “An Episode of War,” details such as the rubber blanket, neat squares of coffee, breast-work, puffs of white smoke in the woods, and even an ashen-looking man smoking a corncob pipe all serve to heighten the __________ of the story.

a. naturalism
b. sentimentalism
c. romanticism
d. realism

34. Which element of “An Episode of War” reveals the influence of naturalism in this story?

a. the calm, peaceful day and the leisurely and ordinary activity of dividing the coffee
b. the lieutenant’s inability to sheath his sword
c. the kindness of the soldier who bandages the lieutenant’s wounded arm
d. the large crowd of wounded, bandaged men that surrounded the hospital tents

35. In “An Episode of War,” why do you suppose Crane chose not to depict the amputation procedure?

a. It was too gruesome.
b. He couldn’t find out what such an experience was like.
c. He didn’t want to shock his readers.
d. He wanted to focus the story on the lieutenant’s changing perspective on life.

36. In “We Wear the Mask,” Dunbar suggests the world sees his fellow African Americans

a. in a harsh and honest light.
b. only when they hide their feelings.
c. when they are filled with “tears and sighs.”
d. as they are praying to Christ.

37. Determine the symbolism in these lines from “We Wear the Mask:” “but oh the clay is vile /  Beneath our feet, and long the mile.”

a. an evil person
b. a long, hard life
c. a broken promise
d. an act of revenge

38. In “Douglass,” Dunbar uses the image of a boat in a stormy sea mainly to symbolize the

a. joy and excitement of African Americans immediately after slavery was abolished.
b. parallel between nature’s power and the enduring quality of African American culture.
c. seafaring traditions of many African cultures.
d. turmoil and hardships African Americans still faced after emancipation.

39. The speaker in “We Wear the Mask” believes that wearing the mask is

a. evil.
b. foolish.
c. impossible.
d. essential.

40. In “We Wear the Mask,” the mention of “tortured souls” suggests __________ about the way the speaker has been treated.

a. amusement
b. a forgiving attitude
c. a lack of concern
d. bitterness