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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Interpretation is important in language because it can affect ______________.

2. Modern Western literature can be traced to ______________.

3. What form of structuralism organizes culture into certain, rule-based practices?

4. In Chapter 2, it is suggested that British literature worked to do what among the classes?

5. Literature, according to Culler, has the ability to do what for ideology?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do theorists mean when they say that a reader is limited by his "horizon of expectations"?

2. According to the Western culture, what does language help to express?

3. Why does Culler believe that Shakespeare has remained widely read and discussed while other writers from that time period have not?

4. Why did Foucault consider "The History of Sexuality" to be repressed?

5. According to Culler, what do most literary works resemble?

6. Does pop culture change the relevance of classical literature?

7. According to Noam Chomsky, linguists help raise the quality of language for what purpose?

8. Why is publishing considered a stamp of approval on a literary work?

9. When was literature used in Britain to control the masses?

10. According to Chapter 4, what does "reader-response" criticism depend upon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Within a novel, there are several different forms of narration. Identify one form of narration and answer the following questions:

1) What does this type of narration accomplish?

2) What is the relationship between the reader and this type of narrator?

3) What are the positives and negatives with this form of narration?

Essay Topic 2

Much English literature sought to control the masses and instill a sense of national pride. Create an argument for or against the following topic, citing specific examples from the text: Although literature sought to control the masses, this technique often backfired. Literature allowed the lower class to understand the difference in the class system. This instilled a desire for the lower class to obtain the same lifestyle as the upper class.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the five points of literature, citing specific examples to illustrate each point.

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