Language and Literature Final

Question 1

What consequence of WWI most shook the foundations of Western civilization?

Answer 1

increased global poverty

Question 2

What 1944 battle most damaged Germany’s plans for world domination?

Answer 2

Normandy

Question 3

What term best describes Anna Seghers as a child?

Answer 3

sanguine

Question 4

What theme was most prevalent in Anna Seghers’ writing?

Answer 4

working-class life

Question 5

Which Franz Kafka parable does Transit paraphrase in the tale of a man waiting in eternity?

Answer 5

“Before the Law”

Question 6

For what reason did the Nazi government least persecute Anna Seghers?

Answer 6

believing in social justice

Question 7

With what person would Anna Seghers most likely argue?

Answer 7

a politician

Question 8

Why did the French authorities detain Anna Seghers’ husband?

Answer 8

They considered him a foreign troublemaker

Question 9

What group did the Moscow show trials most persecute?

Answer 9

Nazi associates

Question 10

What novel did Anna Seghers publish in East Germany?

Answer 10

The Decision

Question 11

What theme did the SED demand East German fiction reflect?

Answer 11

the benefits of socialism

Question 12

What main obstacle impeded the Seghers family’s emigration from France to Mexico?

Answer 12

They needed to obtain multiple permits

Question 13

Into which zones did the 1940 armistice divide France?

Answer 13

German-occupied and free zones

Question 14

How does the narrator’s romantic quest in Transit end?

Answer 14

His rival defeats him

Question 15

What event mentioned in Transit best exemplifies the narrator’s prophetic role?

Answer 15

the collapse of totalitarian rule

Question 16

Why does the narrator of Transit find Achselroth “a really unpleasant guy”?

Answer 16

He abandons his friend.

Question 17

Both Weidel and his real-life inspiration counterpart

Answer 17

committed suicide as the German army advanced

Question 18

What term best describes Paul in Transit?

Answer 18

resourceful

Question 19

What pretext did Germany provide for taking over France in 1942?

Answer 19

protecting France from the Allies

Question 20

What element of the refugees’ departure process described in Transit is most Kafkaesque?

Answer 20

Bureaucrats lose sight of the refugees’ humanity

Question 21

Achselroth first betrays his friends in Transit when he

Answer 21

leaves occupied France without them

Question 22

The bureaucrat who refuses the Transit narrator’s visa is best described as suffering from

Answer 22

megalomania

Question 23

What theme appears in the New Testament passage read at the Marseille church in Transit?

Answer 23

danger

Question 24

In Transit, Anna Seghers employs the story of Sisyphus to

Answer 24

critique the military

Question 25

What Anna Seghers work immediately preceded Transit?

Answer 25

The Seventh Cross

Question 26

What German term best describes Transit?

Answer 26

exilroman

Question 27

Rebecca West's realism is best described as

Answer 27

psychological

Question 28

What similarity does Rebecca West identify between intellectuals and house cats in "A Day in Town"?

Answer 28

They rely on the generosity of people they disdain

Question 29

What aim does the narrator of "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" have?

Answer 29

thinking peace into existence

Question 30

Why does the narrator of "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" suggest civilization requires women's contribution?

Answer 30

Traditional male values glorify violence

Question 31

True or False: "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" says that patriarchal societies are more vulnerable because they have weaker defense systems.

Answer 31

False

Question 32

True or False: Rebecca West's work has not remained popular because it is not easily classified.

Answer 32

True

Question 33

Where did the Auden Group first meet?

Answer 33

Oxford

Question 34

What element of W.H. Auden's writing most contributed to his reputation as an astute poet?

Answer 34

He accurately predicted social events

Question 35

The speaker's reference to Pericles' funeral oration in "September 1, 1939" most likely alludes to the

Answer 35

meaning of democracy

Question 36

Early readers of Keith Douglas's poems most often found his work

Answer 36

disturbing

Question 37

Which poet's work does the theme of Keith Douglas's "Desert Flowers" most resemble?

Answer 37

John McCrae

Question 38

What two words best form a pararhyme in "Desert Flowers"?

Answer 38

"words" and "discards"

Question 39

Why is the speaker of "Vergissmeinnicht" only "almost content" upon viewing his dead enemy?

Answer 39

He shares in the man's humanity

Question 40

Before enlisting in the military, Donald Bain was an

Answer 40

editor