English Language

Literary Analysis

4,495 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 Victorian novel features the character of Dorian Gray, a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty?

  1. The Picture of Dorian Gray

  2. The Importance of Being Earnest

  3. Lady Windermere's Fan

  4. An Ideal Husband
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" explores the consequences of hedonism and moral decay.

Multiple choice

In what century is the novel (Pride and Prejudice) by Jane Austen set?

  1. 18th

  2. 19th

  3. 20th

  4. 17th
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (Pride and Prejudice) by Jane Austen is set in the 19th century, specifically in the early 1800s.

Multiple choice

Which of the following novels by Charles Dickens is set in the Victorian era?

  1. \(A Tale of Two Cities\)
  2. \(Oliver Twist\)
  3. \(David Copperfield\)
  4. \(Great Expectations\)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (Great Expectations) by Charles Dickens is set in the Victorian era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901.

Multiple choice

Which of the following novels by Toni Morrison is set during the Great Depression?

  1. \(Beloved\)
  2. \(The Bluest Eye\)
  3. \(Sula\)
  4. \(Jazz\)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (Sula) by Toni Morrison is set during the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to 1939.

Multiple choice

In what time period is the novel (The Lord of the Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien set?

  1. Middle Ages

  2. Renaissance

  3. Industrial Revolution

  4. Victorian era
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (The Lord of the Rings) by J.R.R. Tolkien is set in a fictional world that is inspired by the Middle Ages.

Multiple choice

Which of the following novels by Gabriel García Márquez is set in the town of Macondo?

  1. \(One Hundred Years of Solitude\)
  2. \(Love in the Time of Cholera\)
  3. \(The Autumn of the Patriarch\)
  4. \(No One Writes to the Colonel\)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez is set in the fictional town of Macondo.

Multiple choice

In what country is the novel (The Joy Luck Club) by Amy Tan set?

  1. China

  2. Japan

  3. Vietnam

  4. United States
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (The Joy Luck Club) by Amy Tan is set in the United States, specifically in the city of San Francisco.

Multiple choice

In what time period is the novel (The Great Gatsby) by F. Scott Fitzgerald set?

  1. 1920s

  2. 1930s

  3. 1940s

  4. 1950s
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (The Great Gatsby) by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s, specifically during the Jazz Age.

Multiple choice

Which of the following novels by Ernest Hemingway is set during the Spanish Civil War?

  1. \(The Sun Also Rises\)
  2. \(A Farewell to Arms\)
  3. \(For Whom the Bell Tolls\)
  4. \(The Old Man and the Sea\)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (For Whom the Bell Tolls) by Ernest Hemingway is set during the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936 to 1939.

Multiple choice

In what country is the novel (The Book Thief) by Markus Zusak set?

  1. Germany

  2. Austria

  3. Switzerland

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

The novel (The Book Thief) by Markus Zusak is set in Germany during World War II.

Multiple choice

Which of the following novels by J.D. Salinger is set at the Pencey Prep school?

  1. \(The Catcher in the Rye\)
  2. \(Nine Stories\)
  3. \(Franny and Zooey\)
  4. \(Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters\)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (The Catcher in the Rye) by J.D. Salinger is set at the Pencey Prep school.

Multiple choice

In what time period is the novel (To Kill a Mockingbird) by Harper Lee set?

  1. 1930s

  2. 1940s

  3. 1950s

  4. 1960s
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The novel (To Kill a Mockingbird) by Harper Lee is set in the 1930s, specifically in the American South.

Multiple choice

Which autobiography chronicles the life of a young woman who overcame poverty and discrimination to become a civil rights leader?

  1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

  2. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

  3. The Long Walk to Freedom

  4. Dreams from My Father
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Maya Angelou's autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", recounts her childhood experiences of poverty, racism, and sexual abuse, and her journey to becoming a prominent civil rights activist and author.

Multiple choice

Which autobiography tells the story of a young woman who survived the Holocaust and went on to become a world-renowned author and humanitarian?

  1. Night

  2. The Diary of a Young Girl

  3. Man's Search for Meaning

  4. The Hiding Place
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Anne Frank's autobiography, "The Diary of a Young Girl", is a poignant account of her life during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, as she and her family hid from persecution in a secret annex.

Multiple choice

In her autobiography, Helen Keller recounts her childhood experiences of blindness and deafness and her remarkable journey to becoming an author, lecturer, and advocate for people with disabilities. What is the title of this autobiography?

  1. The Story of My Life

  2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

  3. Long Walk to Freedom

  4. The Diary of a Young Girl
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Helen Keller's autobiography, "The Story of My Life", co-written with Anne Sullivan Macy, provides an inspiring account of her life, from her early childhood experiences to her achievements as an author, lecturer, and advocate for people with disabilities.