ENG 112: Composition and Literature

Study Guide for the Exam

EXAM FORMAT

The final exam for this course will have two parts. The first part will consist of identification questions in which you respond to a term with its 1) identification/definition; 2) an example; 3) its significance to the literature of place as we have explored it throughout the semester. Each identification is worth ten points, and you must respond to three of five terms.

EXAMPLE

Character: A character is a person represented in a literary work who has particular moral, intellectual and emotional qualities. There are flat characters, who are a kind of “type” and can be described with a single sentence, and round characters, who are complex. Ultima is a round character who does not feel it necessary to choose between the indigenous customs she knows and Catholicism. Characters like Ultima are important to literary works about place because she uses the natural environment in her work as a curandera and embodies the history of the place as well.

[NB: You probably won't be able to write quite this much for each identification.]

You will then choose one of two essay questions to write a lengthy analysis (more than one paragraph). This essay will require you to synthesize your analysis of two or more literary works. The essay is worth seventy points.

Questions like the following essay questions may appear on the exam.

1) Define setting. Using this tri-partite concept (hint), describe the setting of Bless Me, Ultima and how that setting influences one of the themes of the novel.

2) Compare and contrast the theme of "What's in Alaska?" to "Landscape and Narrative."

3) Define "seeing" in Annie Dillard's sense of the word and apply it to Antonio's coming of age in Bless Me, Ultima.

The following terms (in no particular order) may appear in EITHER identification questions or essay questions. In class, I will suggest study tips for this kind of exam.

every author on the syllabus                                         

point of view

structure

genre

language

style

the Writing Process

setting                                                                          

close reading

regionalism

bildungsroman

community

theme

biculturalism

symbol/symbolism                                                        

character

memoir

stereotype

plot