AMERICAN LITERATURE
EXAM REVIEW 2014
HAYES PRODUCTIONS
VOCABULARY
• 40 @ ¼ point each = 10 points
• 40 words chosen from the 10 lists
• Lists are all on Quizlet
20 definitions
20 fill in sentences with words
QUOTATIONS
• 2 @ 10 points each = 20 points
• You will be given a choice of quotes (with characters and title)
and you will write about two of them. For each quote you will
answer two questions:
• What exactly is going on in the text at the particular time the quote is
stated? You know who is speaking to whom – but what is happening in
the plot at this moment?
• Explain how this quote is representative of one of the larger themes the
piece of literature addresses. Consider what ideas the quote references
based on the situation, word choice, etc.
SAMPLE QUOTE
The Great Gatsby, Nick repeating what George Wilson says:
“Maybe you got some friend that I could telephone for, George?”
This was a forlorn hope—he was almost sure that Wilson had no friend: there
was not enough of him for his wife. Wilson’s glazed eyes turned out to the ash heaps,
where small gray clouds took on fantastic shape and scurried here and there in the faint
dawn wind.
“I spoke to her,” he muttered, after a long silence. “I told her she might fool
me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window”—with an effort he got up and
walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it—” and I said
‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me,
but you can’t fool God!’ ”
Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the
eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the
dissolving night.
“God sees everything,” repeated Wilson.
PASSAGE ANALYSIS : FICTION
Short passage
Two questions @ 10 points each = 20 points
You will read a short passage from a work of American fiction. Then you will
answer two questions, just like you have done before in a formative
assessment.
 Describe in detail the central meaning of the passage. (What is the
author’s purpose? What is the author trying to convey to the reader?)
 Identify at least one method the author uses to convey that
meaning. (Humor, metaphor, figurative language, symbolism,
dialogue, characterization.)
SAMPLE PASSAGE
To b e g i n a t t h e b e g i n n i n g , t h e a i r p l a n e f r o m M i n n e a p o l i s i n w h i c h F r a n c i s
We e d w a s t r a v e l i n g e a s t r a n i n t o h e a v y w e a t h e r . T h e s k y h a d b e e n a h a z y
blue, with the clouds below the plane lying so close together that nothing
could be seen of the earth. Then mist began to form outside the windows,
and they flew into a white cloud of such density that it reflected the
e x h a u s t f i r e s . T h e c o l o r o f t h e c l o u d d a r k e n e d t o g r a y, a n d t h e p l a n e b e g a n
to rock. Francis had been in heavy weather before, but he had never been
shaken up so much. The man in the seat beside him pulled a flask out of
his pocket and took a drink. Francis smiled at his neighbor, but the man
looked away; he wasn't sharing his pain killer with anyone. The plane
b e g a n t o d r o p a n d f l o u n d e r w i l d l y. A c h i l d w a s c r y i n g . T h e a i r i n t h e c a b i n
was overheated and stale, and Francis' left foot went to sleep. He read a
little from a paper book that he had, bought at the airport, but the violence
of the storm divided his attention. It was black outside the ports. The
exhaust fires blazed and shed sparks in the dark, and, inside, the shaded
lights, the stuffiness, and the window shades gave the cabin an atmosphere
o f i n t e n s e a n d m i s p l a c e d d o m e s t i c i t y. T h e n t h e l i g h t s f l i c k e r e d a n d w e n t
o u t . " Yo u k n o w w h a t I ' v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o d o ? " T h e m a n b e s i d e F r a n c i s
s a i d s u d d e n l y. " I ' v e a l w a y s w a n t e d t o b u y a f a r m i n N e w H a m p s h i r e a n d
raise beef cattle." The stewardess announced that they were going to make
an emergency landing. All but the children saw in their minds the
spreading wings of the angel of death. The pilot could be heard singing
f a i n t l y. T h e r e w a s n o o t h e r s o u n d .
ESSAY = 50 POINTS
Y O U W I L L W R I T E A 5 PA R A G R A P H E S S AY A D D R E S S I N G A S I N G L E
T H E M E / I D E A T H AT R E L AT E S T O M A N Y O F T H E W O R K S O F
A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E W E H AV E S T U D I E D T H R O U G H O U T T H E
YEAR.

YOU WILL BE ASKED TO USE 3 MAJOR TEXTS OR 3
MAJOR CHARACTERS FROM DIFFERENT PIECES OF
WRITING.

INTRODUCTION SHOULD EXPLAIN THE IDEA IN
GENERAL.

B O D Y PA R A G R A P H S S H O U L D E X P L O R E H O W T H E T E X T
O R C H A R A C T E R D E M O N S T R AT E S T H E T H E M E / I D E A .

C O N C L U S I O N A S K S Y O U T O R E L AT E T H E I D E A T O
Y O U R S E L F.
SAMPLE THEMES FOR ESSAY TOPIC
•
•
•
•
•
ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN
R O L E O F FA M I LY
THE AMERICAN DREAM
THE ROLE OF RACE AND
RACISM
S O C I O - E C O N O M I C S TAT U S A N D
ITS ROLE

Y O U M A Y U S E T H E P I E C E O F D R A M AT I C
L I T E R AT U R E Y O U R E A D I N Y O U R S M A L L
G R O U P.

Y O U M AY S U B S T I T U T E A C H A R A C T E R F R O M
A S H O RT S TO RY O R F I L M F O R O N E O F T H E
PA R A G R A P H S
RUBRIC FOR ESSAY
Introduction (10)
Supporting (25)
(3-4 body paragraphs)
Conclusion (10)
Organization and
Writing(5)
Terrific
and full
credit (50)
The intro contains some
background information (or
general opening statements)
and concludes with a thesis
statement
Each support paragraph explains the main
point of the thesis clearly and thoroughly.
You have clearly supported your ideas
with many details from the texts. You
have transitioned and linked the various
paragraphs and characters very
effectively.
Insights about a main point are
explored and detailed.
Conclusion takes the reader
beyond the main ideas as well,
and introduces a conclusive
summative statement. Specific
reference to personal response to
the topic
Support paragraphs use topic
sentences and concluding
sentences/precise transitions
are used/names of characters
are spelled correctly.
Good (40)
Opening information is not as
clear as it could be, but the
thesis statement highlights
key points.
One or two of the paragraphs provide
adequate details for discussion points.
You have some good details, although
more support is needed. You used some
good characters, although some choices
were not as effective as they might have
been.
Some insights about a specific
theme are discussed. Vague
reference to personal response.
Minor errors exist.
Organization starts fine…or is
effective in some spots, but not
throughout.
Fair (30)
Thesis statement is given, but
could be more clear. No
other opening information is
provided
Fewer than three paragraphs. Or some of
the paragraphs provide inadequate
support.
Merely repeats the intro with no
new insights. No real reference
to your personal response.
Several errors exist. Not well
organized.
Weak –
needs
effort (20)
Missing thesis statement and
direction of essay is unclear.
Support details are weak, but present in all
three paragraphs.
Conclusion merely summarizes
the discussion.
No conclusion.
Errors distract from the
presentation of the essay.
Disorganized.
TEXTS, STORIES, FILM
TEXTS FOR CONSIDERATION:
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
DRAMATIC LIT CHOICES:
Fences
A Raisin in the Sun
American Dream/Zoo Story
A View from the Bridge
All My Sons
The Glass Menagerie
Death of a Salesman
FILM:
Blue Jasmine
SHORT STORIES
“Memorial Day”
“Reunion”
“The Raft”
“Rules of the Game”
“A & P”
LITERARY TERMS
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Irony
• Symbolism
• Foreshadowing
• Imagery/figurative language
• Point of view (of the speaker in a piece of writing)
• Juxtaposition