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Eleventh Grade English Final Exam Study Guide: Second Semester ‘14
Introduction:
Your final exam will consist of two portions: a multiple-choice test and an in-class essay. All core literary
works from the semester will be covered. The questions will refer to more general themes and issues. That
said, be prepared for a number of questions with quotation analysis (e.g., “What does this quotation mean?”
or, “What does this quotation suggest about Topic X?”). In addition, expect to identify the speakers of a few
quotations.
Be familiar with the following works:
I. The Great Gatsby
II. Mark Twain Unit: Huck Finn, “Jumping Frog,” and “Adam and Eve”
III. The Things They Carried
IV. The Kite Runner
I. The Great Gatsby
1. Who are the main characters? Below is a partial list:
a. Tom Buchanan
b. Daisy Buchanan
c. Nick Carraway
d. Jordan Baker
e. Myrtle Wilson
f. Meyer Wolfsheim
2. What’s East Egg? West Egg? How are they different?
3. How does Gatsby make his money?
4. How does the text portray the American Dream?
5. What are some of the major themes in the novel?
6. Describe the lifestyle of the 1920s.
II. Mark Twain Unit: Huck Finn, “Jumping Frog,” and “Adam and Eve”
1. Who are the key characters? Below is a partial list:
a. Widow Douglas
b. Huck Finn
c. Jim
d. Pap
e. Adam
f. Eve
g. Jim Smiley
h. Dan’l Webster
i. Buck Grangerford
j. The Wilks family
2. How does Huck escape Pap?
3. What does the term “picaresque” mean? How is Huck Finn picaresque?
4. How does Huck Finn advocate for racial equality? What are some of the reasons that some critics
say that it doesn’t go far enough?
5. How does Twain characterize life on the Mississippi River?
6. How does the stranger manage to trick Jim Smiley?
7. What are the effects of colloquial language in Twain’s work?
8. How does “Adam and Eve” challenge gender stereotypes? How does it reinforce them?
9. In “Adam and Eve,” who names the animals?
III. The Things They Carried
1. Who are the main characters? Below is a partial list:
a. Ted Lavender
b. Kiowa
c. Tim O’Brien (character, not the author)
d. Norman Bowker
e. Jimmy Cross
f. Rat Kiley
g. Curt Lemon
h. Bobby Jorgensen
i. Linda
j. Mary Anne Bell
2. How does the text characterize war?
3. How does Curt Lemon die? Kiowa? Ted Lavender?
4. What process does O’Brien undergo before deciding to fight in Vietnam?
5. What are some of the themes in the story?
IV. The Kite Runner
1. Who are the main characters? Below is a partial list:
a. Amir
b. Hassan
c. Baba
d. Ali
e. Sanaubar
f. Rahim Khan
g. Assef
h. Soraya
2. What is the setting of the novel? What’s the capital city of the country?
3. Why do Baba and Amir flee?
4. How would you describe the relationship between Amir and Hassan?
5. What is the dominant religion in the text?
6. Describe Hassan’s family background.
7. Why do Hassan and Ali leave Baba’s house?
8. What disturbing incident does Amir witness?
9. How does the novel portray Afghanistan? The United States?
10. What shocking event does the novel reveal?