CLEP Humanities : Answering Other Questions About Nineteenth-Century Fiction

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Nineteenth Century Fiction

A "serialized" novel refers to a novel that was originally published __________.

Possible Answers:

under a pseudonym

in a limited run

in successive editions of a magazine or newspaper

as a shorter piece

in a heavily redacted format

Correct answer:

in successive editions of a magazine or newspaper

Explanation:

Serialized publication was the most common form of initial publication for many novels in the nineteenth century, particularly the works of Charles Dickens. Typically, magazines would publish short sections, usually just a chapter at a time, in each edition of the publication. This form of publication would allow readers to see a novel in small chunks, and eagerly buy up the next edition of the magazine.

Example Question #3 : Answering Other Questions About Fiction

What is the novel that begins with the line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"?

Possible Answers:

Les Miserables

Middlemarch

Great Expectations

A Tale of Two Cities

Sense and Sensibility

Correct answer:

A Tale of Two Cities

Explanation:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities, is one of the most famous opening lines in literature. It also explains the themes of the novel: Charles Dickens' story of the French Revolution contrasts what the revolutionaries wanted as being noble with the savagery and anarchy caused by this desire.

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Fiction

A bildungsroman refers to a novel in which __________.

Possible Answers:

the story is told from multiple perspectives

the narrator has a limited perspective on the story

a character grows from an adolescent to an adult

the characters are slightly fictionalized versions of real life people

the characters in the story all have a larger symbolic purpose

Correct answer:

a character grows from an adolescent to an adult

Explanation:

A "bildungsroman," which is German for a "coming of age novel," is a novel whose story concerns the development and growth of the main character. Typically, the novel will feature a main character who grows from adolescence to adulthood throughout the story. Classic examples of the genre are David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

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