GRE Subject Test: Literature in English : Contexts of World Prose After 1925

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 #1 : Contexts Of World Prose

Which of the following is not another work by the author of The English Patient?

Possible Answers:

In the Skin of a Lion

Coming Through Slaughter

The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems

Oryx and Crake

Divisadero

Correct answer:

Oryx and Crake

Explanation:

Ondaatje wrote Coming Through Slaughter (1976), In the Skin of a Lion (1987), Divisadero (2007), and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems (1970). He did not write Oryx and Crake, a 2003 novel by Margaret Atwood. 

Example Question #2 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

What country is the author of Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage from?

Possible Answers:

Canada

Ireland

Denmark

New Zealand

Scotland

Correct answer:

Canada

Explanation:

Alice Munro is a Nobel Prize-winning Canadian writer.

Example Question #1 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Who is the author of The Handmaid’s Tale?

Possible Answers:

Alice Munro

Margaret Atwood

Ursula K. Le Guin

Angela Carter

Pat Barker

Correct answer:

Margaret Atwood

Explanation:

The Handmaid’s Tale is Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s sixth novel.

Alice Munro (also Canadian) wrote Lives of Girls and Women (1971), Ursula K. LeGuin wrote The Dispossessed (1974), Pat Barker wrote The Regeneration Trilogy (1991, 1993, 1995), and Angela Carter wrote The Passion of New Eve (1977).

Example Question #3 : Contexts Of World Prose

Which of the following fields of study is most relevant to studying the The Handmaid’s Tale?

Possible Answers:

Feminism

Religious studies

Chemistry

Race studies

Archaeology

Correct answer:

Feminism

Explanation:

While it does contain some religious references, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is first and foremost a feminist novel that discusses gender dynamics, power, sexuality, and reproductive rights.

Example Question #2 : Contexts Of World Prose

What country is the author of The Handmaid’s Tale from?

Possible Answers:

England

Japan

South Africa

Chile

Canada

Correct answer:

Canada

Explanation:

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian novelist, poet, and essay writer. She was born in 1939 in Ottawa. Atwood continues to live in Canada, now in Toronto, and is active on the Canadian literary and eco-political scenes.

Example Question #4 : Contexts Of World Prose

Which of the following genres does The Handmaid’s Tale belong to?

Possible Answers:

Mystery or Crime Fiction

Western Fiction

Historical Fiction

Dystopian Fiction

Fantasy

Correct answer:

Dystopian Fiction

Explanation:

The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is set in a futuristic, dystopian society. While it does contain some science fiction elements, Atwood herself has resisted this classification, preferring her work be termed dystopian or speculative fiction. The Handmaid's Tale is not a fantasy novel: there is no use of magic by any of the characters in the story.

Example Question #5 : Contexts Of World Prose

Who is the author of The English Patient?

Possible Answers:

Joseph Boyden

Michael Ondaatje

Alice Munro

Mochtar Lubis

Margaret Atwood

Correct answer:

Michael Ondaatje

Explanation:

The English Patient is Michael Ondaatje’s 1992 Booker Prize-winning novel.

Canadian author Joseph Boyden wrote The Three Day Road (2005), Indonesian author Mochtar Lubis wrote Maut dan Cinta (Death and Love) (1977), Canadian author Margaret Atwood wrote The Edible Woman (1969), and Canadian author Alice Munro wrote Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You (1974) (She has also recently had a Canadian postage stamp commisioned in her honor!).

Example Question #6 : Contexts Of World Prose

What war is The English Patient set during?

Possible Answers:

the French and Indian War

World War II

the Cold War

the Iraqi War

World War I

Correct answer:

World War II

Explanation:

The English Patient (1992) concerns four characters (a nurse, a thief, a burn victim, and a British soldier) flung together in a dilapidated Italian villa towards the end of World War II.

Example Question #3 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Of which country is the author of The English Patient a citizen?

Possible Answers:

Iceland

South Africa

Bangladesh

Canada

Indonesia

Correct answer:

Canada

Explanation:

Although he was born in Sri Lanka in 1943, Michael Ondaatje is a Canadian writer. He moved to Canada in 1962.

Example Question #1 : Contexts Of World Prose After 1925

Which of the following is not another collection by the author of Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage?

Possible Answers:

The House of the Spirits

Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You

Lives of Girls and Women

Dance of the Happy Shades

Runaway

Correct answer:

The House of the Spirits

Explanation:

The House of the Spirits is a 1982 novel by the Chilean-American author Isabel Allende. All the rest are titles by Alice Munro.

Dance of the Happy Shades was published in 1968, Runaway was published in 2004, Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You was published in 1974, and Lives of Girls and Women was published in 1971.

All GRE Subject Test: Literature in English Resources

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