English 9 Honors Midterm Exam Study Guide
PART I SEMESTER MATERIAL (55 points)
Part I contains 55 multiple-choice questions. These questions are based around the material we studied the second half of the year.
Unit Title:
Self-Reliance and the Journey of the Hero
The Odyssey by Homer
 Significant Characters:
 Epic Hero Cycle
 Format and Requirements of an Epic
 Hospitality
 Temptation
 Role of destiny/gods and goddesses
 Odysseus’ intelligence and pride
The Body by Stephen King
 Significant Characters:
 Journey – growing up
 Foreshadowing
 Adult Betrayal
 Friendship
 The Drowning Dream
 Loss of Innocence
Forrest Gump
 Significant Characters:
 Destiny
 Journey
 Importance of Home
 Respect for Friends
Short Story:
“Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
 Significant Characters
 Summary
Non Fiction:
 “Odyssey’s End? The Search for Ancient Ithaca” Smithsonian Magazine Article
 “This I Believe” Essay
Poetry: “Ithaca” by Cavafy
 Symbolic Interpretation
Language:
 Xenos
 Hubris
 In medias re
Unit Title:
Shifting Perspectives
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
 Significant Characters:
 Setting
o Maycomb
o Radley House
 Connections between Characters
 Real Courage
 Loss of Innocence
 Symbolism
The Blind Side
 Significant Characters
 Honor and Courage
 Connections to other texts
Non Fiction:
 Harper Lee Biography
 Scottsboro Trial: An American Tragedy by PBS
Short Stories:
“Thank you, M’am” by Langston Hughes
 Significant Characters
 Summary
“Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier
 Significant Characters
 Summary
Poetry:
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
 Symbolism Interpretation
Language:
 Empathy
 Bigotry
 Tolerance
Across the Units: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
 Pip’s feelings about other characters in the novel
 Inferences about Miss Havisham
 Symbolism/irony of: Example: Satis House, hands
 Dynamic and static characters
PART II
COLD READING (15 points)
You will be asked to read a story none of the English 9 classes have covered in class. Then you will answer 5 multiple choice
questions on that short story. An open-ended written response is also required. The written response will be based off the short story
you read and your ability to incorporate some of the ideas/themes from the semester’s reading.
PART III
EXPLANATORY ESSAY (30 points)
In part III you will have to write a multiple paragraph essay in response to a prompt. It will involve applying your understanding of the
novels covered this year and your ability to connect our reading to whatever is provided in the prompt. Your essay will be graded
using the New Jersey Holistic Scoring Rubric which scores on a scale of 1-6 in terms of content/organization, usage, sentence
construction, and mechanics.