English Language

Literary Analysis

4,216 Questions

Analyze classic and modernist novels, autobiographies, plays, and graphic novels across various genres. This topic tests your familiarity with prominent authors, literary movements, and thematic elements. Questions appear regularly in the English language sections of SSC, banking, and teaching competency exams.

Classic and modernist novelsAutobiographies and biographiesPoetic language and farcesThematic literary elements

Literary Analysis Questions

Multiple choice

Which autobiography by Clarence Thomas, a former Supreme Court Justice, stirred controversy due to its conservative viewpoints and criticism of liberal justices?

  1. My Grandfather's Son

  2. Equal Justice Under Law

  3. The Nine

  4. Landmark Cases
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Clarence Thomas' autobiography, 'My Grandfather's Son', sparked controversy for its conservative perspectives and criticism of liberal justices.

Multiple choice

In her autobiography, 'My Beloved World', Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice, recounts her upbringing in the Bronx and her path to becoming a jurist. What was the name of the high school she attended?

  1. Cardinal Spellman High School

  2. Hunter College High School

  3. Bronx High School of Science

  4. Stuyvesant High School
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Sonia Sotomayor attended Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.

Multiple choice

In her autobiography, 'The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family', Annette Gordon-Reed explores the lives of the Hemings family, enslaved people at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate. What was the name of the law school where Gordon-Reed teaches?

  1. Harvard Law School

  2. Yale Law School

  3. Columbia Law School

  4. Stanford Law School
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Annette Gordon-Reed teaches at Harvard Law School.

Multiple choice

Which famous novel by Mark Twain satirizes the American society and its obsession with wealth and status?

  1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

  2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

  3. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

  4. The Gilded Age
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Gilded Age is a satirical novel by Mark Twain that criticizes the American society of the Gilded Age, a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization.

Multiple choice

Which satirical novel by George Orwell depicts a dystopian society where the government controls every aspect of people's lives?

  1. Animal Farm

  2. 1984

  3. Brave New World

  4. Fahrenheit 451
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

1984 is a dystopian novel by George Orwell that satirizes totalitarianism and the dangers of government surveillance and control.

Multiple choice

Which satirical play by Aristophanes criticizes the Peloponnesian War and the Athenian democracy?

  1. Lysistrata

  2. The Clouds

  3. The Frogs

  4. The Birds
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Lysistrata is a satirical play by Aristophanes that criticizes the Peloponnesian War and the Athenian democracy by depicting a group of women who withhold sex from their husbands until they agree to make peace.

Multiple choice

Which satirical novel by Joseph Heller criticizes the absurdity and futility of war?

  1. Catch-22

  2. Slaughterhouse-Five

  3. The Naked and the Dead

  4. From Here to Eternity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Catch-22 is a satirical novel by Joseph Heller that criticizes the absurdity and futility of war.

Multiple choice

Which satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut criticizes the arms race and the Cold War?

  1. Cat's Cradle

  2. Slaughterhouse-Five

  3. The Sirens of Titan

  4. Player Piano
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Cat's Cradle is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut that criticizes the arms race and the Cold War.

Multiple choice

Which satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh criticizes the British upper class and their obsession with social status?

  1. Decline and Fall

  2. Brideshead Revisited

  3. Scoop

  4. A Handful of Dust
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Decline and Fall is a satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh that criticizes the British upper class and their obsession with social status.

Multiple choice

Which satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis criticizes the American business culture and the pursuit of wealth?

  1. Babbitt

  2. Main Street

  3. Arrowsmith

  4. Elmer Gantry
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Babbitt is a satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis that criticizes the American business culture and the pursuit of wealth.

Multiple choice

In the ballet film "The Red Shoes", what happens to the protagonist, Victoria Page, after she puts on the magical red shoes?

  1. She becomes a famous dancer

  2. She is cursed and can't stop dancing

  3. She falls in love with a prince

  4. She dies
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In "The Red Shoes", Victoria Page is cursed by the red shoes and is forced to dance until she dies.

Multiple choice

In which historical drama series does a group of women navigate the challenges of life in 1960s New York City?

  1. Mad Men

  2. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

  3. The Good Wife

  4. Orange is the New Black
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a comedy-drama series set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, following Miriam "Midge" Maisel, a young Jewish woman who discovers her talent for stand-up comedy after her husband leaves her.

Multiple choice

Which historical drama series follows the lives of the Crawley family and their servants in the early 20th century?

  1. Downton Abbey

  2. Upstairs Downstairs

  3. The Forsyte Saga

  4. The Edwardian
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Downton Abbey is a historical drama series set in the early 20th century, following the lives of the Crawley family and their servants in the fictional Yorkshire estate of Downton Abbey.

Multiple choice

In which historical drama series does a group of young people travel back in time to the 1980s and experience the cultural and political upheaval of the era?

  1. Stranger Things

  2. The Americans

  3. The Crown

  4. The Get Down
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Stranger Things is a science fiction horror drama series set in the 1980s, following a group of young friends who investigate the disappearance of their friend and encounter supernatural forces.

Multiple choice

In which historical drama series does a young woman travel back in time to the 19th century and becomes a governess in a wealthy family's home?

  1. The Paradise

  2. The White Queen

  3. The Spanish Princess

  4. Downton Abbey
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Paradise is a historical drama series set in the late 19th century, following the life of Denise Lovett, a young woman who moves to London to work as a governess in a wealthy family's home.