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 memoir is written by a young woman who survived the Bosnian War?

  1. Zlata's Diary

  2. The Diary of Anne Frank

  3. The Kite Runner

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

Zlata's Diary is a memoir written by Zlata Filipović, a young woman who survived the Bosnian War. The memoir provides a firsthand account of the war's impact on civilians, particularly children, and offers a powerful and moving perspective on the horrors of war.

Multiple choice

Which memoir is written by a young woman who survived the Rwandan genocide?

  1. Left to Tell

  2. A Long Way Gone

  3. The Kite Runner

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

Left to Tell is a memoir written by Immaculée Ilibagiza, a young woman who survived the Rwandan genocide. The memoir provides a powerful and moving account of her experiences during the genocide, including her survival in a bathroom for three months.

Multiple choice

Which memoir is written by a young woman who survived the Cambodian genocide?

  1. First They Killed My Father

  2. The Killing Fields

  3. The Joy Luck Club

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

First They Killed My Father is a memoir written by Loung Ung, a young woman who survived the Cambodian genocide. The memoir provides a harrowing and moving account of her experiences during the Cambodian genocide, including her separation from her family and her struggles to survive.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of a satirical work that promoted social change?

  1. Animal Farm by George Orwell

  2. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

  3. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

  4. The Iliad by Homer
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Animal Farm is a satirical novella that allegorically criticizes the Soviet Union and its totalitarian regime.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of a satirical novel that critiques social norms?

  1. Candide by Voltaire

  2. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

  3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Candide, Gulliver's Travels, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all satirical novels that critique social norms and conventions.

Multiple choice

In Ursula K. Le Guin's 'The Dispossessed', what is the name of the anarchist planet where the protagonist, Shevek, comes from?

  1. Urras

  2. Anarchres

  3. Gethen

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

Anarchres is the name of the anarchist planet where the protagonist, Shevek, comes from in Ursula K. Le Guin's 'The Dispossessed'. It is a society based on the principles of freedom, equality, and cooperation.

Multiple choice

In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird", what does Atticus Finch compare Tom Robinson's trial to?

  1. A game of chess.

  2. A boxing match.

  3. An egg.

  4. A football game.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Atticus Finch compares Tom Robinson's trial to an egg, saying that it is "a simple thing, like an egg. You can't tell what's inside until you break it open."

Multiple choice

In the novel "The Great Gatsby", what does Jay Gatsby keep in his library?

  1. A collection of rare books.

  2. A collection of eggs.

  3. A collection of paintings.

  4. A collection of stamps.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Jay Gatsby keeps a collection of eggs in his library, which symbolizes his desire to repeat the past and recapture the lost love of his life, Daisy Buchanan.

Multiple choice

In the play "Hamlet", what does Hamlet compare his mother's remarriage to?

  1. A snake shedding its skin.

  2. A bird laying an egg.

  3. A flower blooming.

  4. A cloud passing by.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Hamlet compares his mother's remarriage to a bird laying an egg, saying that it is "a beast that wants discourse of reason, / A bawd that wants money, / A beggar that wants pity."

Multiple choice

In the novel "The Catcher in the Rye", what does Holden Caulfield call the people who are "phonies"?

  1. Eggs.

  2. Sheep.

  3. Pigs.

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

Holden Caulfield calls the people who are "phonies" "eggs", because he believes that they are empty and superficial.

Multiple choice

In the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude", what does the Buendía family keep in a chest?

  1. A collection of gold coins.

  2. A collection of jewels.

  3. A collection of eggs.

  4. A collection of love letters.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Buendía family keeps a collection of eggs in a chest, which symbolizes the family's history and the cyclical nature of life.

Multiple choice

In the play "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov, what does Nina Zarechnaya compare herself to?

  1. A seagull.

  2. An egg.

  3. A flower.

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

Nina Zarechnaya compares herself to a seagull, saying that she is "a free bird, and I can fly wherever I want."

Multiple choice

In the novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", what is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?

  1. 42.

  2. An egg.

  3. The meaning of life.

  4. The secret of happiness.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In the novel, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42.

Multiple choice

In the novel "The Catcher in the Rye", what does Holden Caulfield call the people who are "phonies"?

  1. Eggs.

  2. Sheep.

  3. Pigs.

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

Holden Caulfield calls the people who are "phonies" "eggs", because he believes that they are empty and superficial.

Multiple choice

In the novel "The Great Gatsby", what does Jay Gatsby keep in his library?

  1. A collection of rare books.

  2. A collection of eggs.

  3. A collection of paintings.

  4. A collection of stamps.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Jay Gatsby keeps a collection of eggs in his library, which symbolizes his desire to repeat the past and recapture the lost love of his life, Daisy Buchanan.