Literary Analysis: Unveiling Themes and Motifs in Classic Literature
Literary Analysis Questions and Answers
The Devil and Favors
Question: What is the one condition which need not be mentioned, being generally understood in all cases where the Devil grants favor?
Answer: The narrator never claims the stories are true, only that they are widely believed.
Tom Walker’s Motivation
Question: What seems to be Tom’s prime motivation in agreeing to the Devil’s terms?
Answer: His prime motivation in agreeing to the Devil’s terms is greed and money.
Main Lesson
Question: A main lesson of this story is that?
Answer: The story is about a man dealing with the devil.
Puritan Beliefs
Question: It can be inferred from the story that New England Puritans of Tom Walker’s day believed in…?
Answer: Catholicism.
Omniscient Narrator
Question: Which of these statements does not apply to an omniscient narrator?
Answer: Third person knows everything.
Central Message of ‘A Psalm of Life’
Question: Which of these statements is a central message of ‘A Psalm of Life’?
Answer: The poem reminds us that life is not a dream, but very real and urges us to live it to the full and not sit around waiting for death. It says that the purpose of life is not to have fun or indeed to suffer but to do something.
Urges in ‘A Psalm of Life’
Question: ‘A Psalm of Life’ urges people to…
Answer: To inspire people to act.
Attitude Toward Life
Question: Which word best describes the attitude toward life expressed in ‘A Psalm of Life’?
Answer: Optimistic.
Implications in ‘A Psalm of Life’
Question: What do these lines from ‘A Psalm of Life’ imply?
Answer: The soul is on even whether body is off.
Stanzas in ‘Psalm of Life’
Question: The four-line stanzas in ‘Psalm of Life’ are called…
Answer: Quatrain.
Image of Shipwrecked Brother
Question: What broader meaning might the image of the shipwrecked brother in ‘Psalm of Life’ represent?
Answer: Someone who has difficulties in life.
Meaning of Journey
Question: In ‘A Psalm of Life’ what broader meaning in the context’s journey might be conveyed by this stanza?
Answer: Don’t be a follower; be an individual.
Stresses in ‘A Psalm of Life’
Question: ‘A Psalm of Life’ stresses the idea that…?
Answer: Anyone can be a hero.
Effect in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’
Question: Which of these words best describes the single effect created by the opening description of the house in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’?
Answer: Terror.
Roderick’s State
Question: After the narrator arrives, Roderick reveals that his present state stems largely from…
Answer: Reason.
Narrator’s Values
Question: In contrast to Roderick Usher, the narrator presents himself as someone who values…
Answer: Disease.
Central Theme
Question: Which statement expresses a central theme of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’?
Answer: (Missing)
Narrator’s Reaction
Question: Why does the narrator start when Roderick Usher mentions the gradual yet certain condensation of an atmosphere… about the waters and the walls of the House of Usher?
Answer: He felt rare.
Title’s Reference
Question: To what might the title ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ refer?
Answer: The physical collapse of the Usher mansion at the end of the story.
Speaker’s Feelings in ‘The Raven’
Question: What does the speaker in ‘The Raven’ feel when he first thinks that Lenore may at his door?
Answer: Terror and hope at the same time.
Description of Lenore
Question: When the speaker describes Lenore as nameless here for evermore, what does he mean?
Answer: Lenor was so special that her heart was an speaker.
Central Theme of ‘The Raven’
Question: Which of these statements expresses a central theme of ‘The Raven’?
Answer: Isolation can lead to madness.
A Raisin in the Sun
External Conflict in Act One
Question: What is the external conflict in Act One?
Answer: Water Struggles.
Mama and Beneatha
Question: Mama slaps Beneatha after Beneatha says…
Answer: Not believed in God.
The Check
Question: Through the play’s action, the audience knows that the check will be made out to…
Answer: Mama.
Mama’s Decision
Question: What does Mama decide to do with the insurance money?
Answer: To put 3500 for a house the rest to Walter to go to medical school.
Karl Lindner’s Visit
Question: Karl Lindner visits the Youngers in order to…
Answer: Buy a house.