AnswersEnglish IIIRomanticism: American Individualism and American Gothic

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Read this excerpt from chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter . Standing on that miserable eminence, she saw again her native village , in Old England, and her paternal home; a decayed house of gray stone , with a poverty-stricken aspect, but retaining a half-obliterated shield of arms over the portal, in token of antique gentility . What is the effect of the underlined words in this excerpt?

A
They portray a former setting with humility and dignity.
B
They impart a sympathetic mood.
C
They impart a frustrated mood.
D
They portray a former setting with judgment and distaste.
2
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Read this excerpt from chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter using comprehension strategies. It was no great distance, in those days, from the prison-door to the market-place. Measured by the prisoner's experience, however, it might be reckoned a journey of some length; for, haughty as her demeanour was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon. What is the meaning of this excerpt?

A
The walk from prison to scaffolding grew farther over the years as the town expanded.
B
The walk from prison to scaffolding was both emotionally and physically painful for Hester.
C
The walk from prison to scaffolding was short, but the onlookers were a violent crowd.
D
The walk from prison to scaffolding seemed a long and treacherous journey to Hester.
3

Read the paragraph. Length multiplied by width equals the square footage of a room. If the room is L-shaped, you can break the space down into several different squares or rectangles. You may want to measure in inches to figure out the total square inches. Then divide that by 144 to figure out the total square footage. This passage is most appropriate for

A
professional architects.
B
students learning architectural design.
C
professional construction workers.
D
students studying advanced mathematics.
4

An e-mail to your boss asking for a raise in salary would most likely use what type of language?

A
informal
B
casual
C
jargon
D
formal
5

Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher." I had so worked upon my imagination as really to believe that about the whole mansion and domain there hung an atmosphere peculiar to themselves and their immediate vicinity -- an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn -- a pestilent and mystic vapor. Which observation can be made about the narrator?

A
He seems sensitive and spiritual.
B
He seems unsettled and paranoid.
C
He seems frustrated and angry.
D
He seems creative and fanciful.
6

Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher." I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in the unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down -- but with a shudder even more thrilling than before -- upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge. How does this excerpt provide information about the narrator of the story?

A
It describes what the narrator knows from his past.
B
It provides a criticism voiced by the narrator.
C
It describes what the narrator experiences in the story.
D
It provides an inference drawn by the narrator.
7

What is the purpose of the third stanza of "Auspex"?

A
It offers a solution to the problem introduced in the poem.
B
It contrasts the image of the birds from the first stanza.
C
It clearly indicates the poem’s theme.
D
It indicates another direction the poem could take.
8

Read the excerpt from Chapter 28 of Moby-Dick . He looked like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has overrunningly wasted all the limbs without consuming them, or taking away one particle from their compacted aged robustness. His whole high, broad form, seemed made of solid bronze, and shaped in an unalterable mould, like Cellini’s cast Perseus. Which best states the theme that is developed in this excerpt?

A
humankind’s inability to impact nature
B
the flexibility of a person’s intellect
C
the paralysis that fate inflicts on humankind
D
a person’s ability to exercise free will
9

Which best explains the symbolism behind Ahab’s ivory leg, fashioned from the jaw of a whale in Chapter 28 of Moby-Dick ?

A
Ahab is a leader who sets himself apart from his crew in order to protect them.
B
Ahab hunts whales with the aim of providing a living for himself and his crew.
C
Ahab is a leader who instills confidence and security in his crew.
D
Ahab hunts whales with the aim of conquering them like an enemy.
10

Read this quotation from Chapter I of Nature. To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Which sentence from Nature best supports Emerson’s claim?

A
I am glad to the brink of fear.
B
Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece.
C
The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.
D
In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child.
11

What is the rhyme scheme of "A Psalm of Life"?

A
ABBA
B
AABB
C
ABAB
D
ABBC
12

In "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," what is the significance of the phrase “[Death] knew no haste”?

A
The phrase characterizes Death as being removed from human concerns.
B
The phrase is meant to suggest the universality of Death’s power.
C
The phrase is evidence of the poet’s respect for Death’s grace and poise.
D
The phrase displays the poet’s frustration with Death’s lack of speed.
13

When Emerson states, “It by no means follows that we are not fit for society, because soirees are tedious,” in Society and Solitude, how does he support his statement?

A
He suggests that a person has one conception of one’s self when in a group and another when with just one other person.
B
He indicates that no individual is perfect and that parties are not a reason for people to gather together.
C
He tries to show that people behave differently at parties than they might elsewhere, and so parties are not a measure of human worth.
D
He gives various reasons why parties are far less exciting and wholly unlike communities.
14

Read the line from "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church." I just wear my Wings – What does this line illustrate about the speaker’s view of spirituality?

A
that she wishes she could fly
B
that her personal beliefs are all she needs
C
that she needs more than she has
D
that she feels vulnerable and weak

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