GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of American Prose

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Literature in English

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All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

1 Diagnostic Test 158 Practice Tests Question of the Day Flashcards Learn by Concept

Example Questions

Example Question #101 : Contexts Of Prose

The author of The Corrections also wrote which of the following novels?

Possible Answers:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Invisible Man

The Bluest Eye

The Broom of the System

Freedom

Correct answer:

Freedom

Explanation:

Jonathan Franzen published Freedom in 2010. The Broom of the System (1987) is by David Foster Wallace, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005) is by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Bluest Eye (1970) is by Toni Morrison, and Invisible Man (1952) is by Ralph Ellison.

Example Question #102 : Contexts Of Prose

How could The Corrections be classified?

Possible Answers:

Western Novel

Science-Fiction

Multigenerational novel

Dystopia 

Murder Mystery

Correct answer:

Multigenerational novel

Explanation:

The Corrections (2001) is concerned with the travails of the elderly Lambert couple (Midwesterners), their three adult children, and their grandchildren. It is a realist work that in part examines contemporary American family dynamic and in part investigates the nation’s paranoia, economic woes, and social structures. 

Example Question #103 : Contexts Of Prose

Who is the author of The Corrections?

Possible Answers:

Philip Roth

Jonathan Franzen

John Cheever

Raymond Chandler

Raymond Carver

Correct answer:

Jonathan Franzen

Explanation:

The Corrections (2001) is American novelist Jonathan Franzen’s third novel.

Raymond Carver wrote Where I'm Calling From (1988), Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep (1939), Phillip Roth wrote The Ghostwriter (1979, and John Cheever wrote Oh What A Paradise It Seems (1982).

Example Question #104 : Contexts Of Prose

Who wrote Portnoy’s Complaint?

Possible Answers:

Don DeLillo

Philip Roth

Saul Bellow

John Updike

David Foster Wallace

Correct answer:

Philip Roth

Explanation:

Portnoy’s Complaint (1969) is one of Philip Roth’s most famous novels.

Don DeLillo wrote White Noise (1985), Saul Bellow wrote Herzog (1964), John Updike wrote Rabbit, Run (1960), and David Foster Wallace wrote Infinite Jest (1996).

Example Question #105 : Contexts Of Prose

Which of the following elements of Portnoy’s Complaint resulted in its frequent banning in America and abroad?

Possible Answers:

A treasonous protagonist

Violent imagery

A Jewish protagonist

Explicit depictions of sexuality

A subversive plot

Correct answer:

Explicit depictions of sexuality

Explanation:

Although the book does contain a Jewish protagonist, Portnoy’s Complaint (1969) was most commonly banned for its explicit depictions of masturbation and other elements of human sexuality.

Example Question #106 : Contexts Of Prose

Who is the author of the short story “Cathedral”?

Possible Answers:

Don DeLillo

Raymond Carver

Saul Bellow

Thomas Wolfe

Thomas Pynchon

Correct answer:

Raymond Carver

Explanation:

“Cathedral,” (1983) a story about a blind man and a husband and wife, is one of the most famous works by American writer Raymond Carver (1938-1988).

Don DeLillo wrote White Noise (1985), Saul Bellow wrote Herzog (1964), Thomas Pynchon wrote Gravity's Rainbow (1973), and Thomas Wolfe wrote The Right Stuff (1979).

Example Question #101 : Contexts Of Prose

Which of the following is not another work by the author of the short story “Cathedral”?

Possible Answers:

“Neighbors”

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”

“The Swimmer”

“Where I’m Calling From”

“So Much Water So Close to Home”

Correct answer:

“The Swimmer”

Explanation:

“The Swimmer” is a 1964 story by the American writer John Cheever. All the rest are well known works by Raymond Carver.

“So Much Water So Close to Home” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” were included in Carver's 1981 collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. "Neighbors" was included in Carver's 1976 collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?. “Where I’m Calling From” was the titular story in the short story collection Carver published just before his death in 1988.

Example Question #108 : Contexts Of Prose

How could the prose style of the author of “Cathedral” best be described?

Possible Answers:

Prolix

Fantastical

Anaphoric

Minimalistic

Garrulous

Correct answer:

Minimalistic

Explanation:

Although the term "minimalism" offended and bothered him, like Ernest Hemingway, Mary Robison, and Amy Hempel, Raymond Carver is known for his sparse, minimalist prose style and commitment to brevity and syntactic conciseness.

Example Question #109 : Contexts Of Prose

Who is the famous Esquire editor known for working with the author of “Cathedral”?

Possible Answers:

Ezra Pound

Gordon Lish

Max Brod

Michael Pietsch

Max Perkins

Correct answer:

Gordon Lish

Explanation:

While all of these men worked as editors, Gordon Lish is the editor known for paring down Raymond Carver’s work and contributing significantly to the author’s hallmark terseness in his collections prior to Cathedral (1983). After splitting with Lish, Carver's work took on a more hopeful, expansive tone.

Example Question #41 : Contexts Of American Prose

During what decade was “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” published?

Possible Answers:

1970s

1990s

1960s

1950s

1980s

Correct answer:

1960s

Explanation:

This question is particularly tricky, since Joyce Carol Oates has had a very long and prolific writing career. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” was first published in Epoch Magazine in 1966 and has since been anthologized frequently.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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