MCAS Literature

Literature Practice Session 1

Write down the time you start this practice session.

Reading Selection #1

The following selection is an excerpt from an essay by Andrew Lang about Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter.  Read the excerpt and then answer the questions that follow:

Adventures Among Books

by Andrew Lange

(Courtesy of Project Gutenberg)

Hawthorne did not set himself to "compete with life."  He did not make the effort -- the proverbially tedious effort -- to say everything.  To his mind, fiction was not a mirror of commonplace persons, and he was not the analyst of the minutest among their ordinary emotions.  Nor did he make a moral, or social, or political purpose the end and aim of his art.  Moral as many of his pieces naturally are, we cannot call them didactic.  He did not expect, nor intend, to better people by them.  He drew the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale without hoping that his Awful Example would persuade readers to "make a clean breast" of their iniquities and their secrets.  It was the moral situation that interested him, not the edifying effect of his picture of that situation upon the minds of novel-readers.  He set himself to write Romance, with a definite idea of what Romance-writing should be; "to dream strange things, and make them look like truth."

 

1. According to Lang, Hawthorne's primary purpose in creating the character of the Rev. Dimmesdale was to
   1. point out a weakness in the social class system of his day.
   2. write a good story that brings an imaginary situation to life.
   3. psychoanalyze a regular person's commonly Freudian motivation.
   4. teach readers a moral lesson and thereby improve them.
2. In the second sentence, when Lang says "fiction was not a mirror of commonplace persons," what literary device is he using?
   1. personification
   2. alliteration
   3. metaphor
   4. hyperbole
3. Which word best defines the word didactic?
   1. immoral
   2. twofold
   3. analytical
   4. instructive
4. What is Lang's purpose in writing this essay?
   1. to describe Hawthorn's life
   2. to tell us why Hawthorne wrote about moral subjects
   3. to challenge Hawthorne's ideas of Romance
   4. to confirm Hawthorne's importance

Reading Selection #2

5. What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza of "The Tryst"?
   1. ABAB
   2. ABCB
   3. CDCD
   4. BCDC
6. When Christopher Morley describes my heart leaps when...., he's employing which literary device?
   1. onomatopoeia
   2. antithesis
   3. alliteration
   4. personification
7. In line 21 of "The Tryst," what does the word beguiling mean?
   1. enchanting
   2. shining
   3. leaping
   4. meeting
8. In line 22 of "The Tryst," what part of speech is bouldered?
   1. adjective
   2. noun
   3. verb
   4. pronoun
9. In lines 1-2 of "Trees," the poet means
   1. poetry would not be possible without nature as inspiration.
   2. a great poem is finer than any scene from nature could ever be.
   3. nature is more beautiful than any poem crafted by a human being.
   4. scenes from nature are beautiful but fleeting, while poems last.
10. In "Trees," line 2 uses which literary device?
    1. metaphor
    2. simile
    3. hyperbole
    4. understatement
11. "And lifts her leafy arms to pray" is an example of
    1. alliteration.
    2. assonance.
    3. foreshadowing.
    4. hyperbole.
12. How are the themes of these two poems alike?
    1. Both poems glorify nature.
    2. Both poems are about how wonderful it is to be in love.
    3. Both poets emphasize that poets understand what others cannot.
    4. Both poets point out that poetry isn't everything.

Reading Selection #3

The Cherokee and Chippewa are two tribes of Native Americans.  Read the Cherokee and Chippewa creation myths below and answer the questions that follow. 

Cherokee Creation Myth

(Courtesy of PJ Criss, from the Book of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and Characters of Mythology at www.cybercomm.net/~grandpa/gdsindex from an oral account paraphrased in "Through Indian Eyes" by The Reader's DigestAssociation)

Long, long ago, a great island drifted in a vast ocean.  This island hung from four thick ropes suspended from the sky, which was solid rock.  At first there were some plants and animals on the island, but no people.  It was always dark and, consequently, none of the plants or animals could see anything.

The plants and the animals wanted to see more -- they wanted to see the island hanging from the sky, the sky made of stone, the way each other looked. They begged the sun to help them and the sun created a path that took it across the island from east to west each day.  When he saw what had been done, the Great Spirit commanded the animals and plants to stay awake for seven days and seven nights.  They tried to keep the heavy-lids of their eyes from dropping, but many of the animals and most of the plants could not keep their eyes open, and let the heavy weight of their eye lids drop, and fell into a deep sleep.  Those plants that did stay awake, such as the pine and cedar, the Great Spirit allowed to remain green all year, in reward.  All the rest, on the other hand, were forced to lose their leaves each winter.  Those animals that managed to fight the weight of their eyelids, such as the sharp owl and the strong mountain lion, were rewarded with the ability to see easily in the dark.  Then the people appeared.  That is another story.

Chippewa Creation Myth

In the beginning there were no people or animals.  At that time, woman lived alone in a cave, subsisting on roots and berries.  One night, a magical dog crept into her cave and lay on the bed beside her. 

As the hours passed, the dog began to change.  His body became smooth, his limbs grew straight, and his nose shrank, changing his features into those of a handsome warrior's.

As you may have already guessed, nine months later the woman gave birth to a baby boy.  That child was the first Chippewa male and his progeny are the Chippewa people.

13. The Cherokee Myth makes use of what device to describe the trees?

    1. personification

    2. alliteration

    3. metaphor

    4. simile

14. According to the Cherokee creation myth, some trees lose their leaves because they

    1. caught the sun and took it across the island.

    2. did not keep the animals all awake.

    3. stayed awake for seven days and seven nights.

    4. failed to follow the Great Spirit's instruction.

15. According to the Cherokee myth, why can owls and mountain lions see in the dark?

    1. because they stayed awake

    2. because they fell asleep

    3. because they have better vision

    4. because they live on an island

16. In the Chippewa myth, the word subsisting means

    1. leaning.

    2. surviving.

    3. weakening.

    4. ceasing.

17. In the Chippewa myth, the word limbs means

    1. arms and legs.

    2. parts of a tree.

    3. hair and nails.

    4. eyes and ears.

18. In the Chippewa myth, the word progeny means

    1. cousins.

    2. ancestors.

    3. crops.

    4. descendants.

19. In the Cherokee myth, we find that the dog-man's "body became smooth."  What part of speech is the word smooth?

    1. adverb

    2. verb

    3. adjective

    4. noun

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