Answer or discuss

1. Characterize the main tendencies in the development of contemporary English-American literature.

2. Define postmodernism as a literary phenomenon. Find the features of postmodern poetics in novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

3. Compare the characters of Sarah and Ernestina and the roles they play within Victorian society. How are their actions and behaviors influenced or affected by Victorian attitudes towards women? How does their varied social and economic status affect their experiences? Explain.

4. Explain why Charles is interested in Darwin. Is he a typical Victorian gentleman?

5. Why does John Fowles keep interrupting to tell the reader things about Darwin, Freudian psychology, the social customs of Victorian London, and existentialism?

6. The word ‘godfather’ is usually associated with religion and something positive. What’s the meaning of the title of the book The Godfather ?

7. Speak on the following quotations from the novel The Godfather:

• “We will manage our world foe ourselves because it is our world, cosa nostra.”

• “We are all men who have refused to be fools, who have refused to be puppets dancing on a string pulled by the men on high.”

8. “When the book The Godfather was released, Italian Americans were upset because they felt it presented organized crime as a specifically Italian problem.” Do you agree with such ethnic stereotype?

9. Do you think that A Time to Kill is a realistic novel? Give reasons for your opinion.

10. What moral dilemmas does the novel A Time to Kill present?

11. Though Girl with a Pearl Earring appears to be about one man and woman, there are several relationships at work. Which is the most difficult relationship?

12. Do you think Griet was typical of other girls her age? In what ways? How did she differ? (Text 4) Do you think Griet made the right choice when she married the butcher's son? Did she have other options?

13. Throughout the novel, Griet feels divided between her old life with her family and her new life with the Vermeers. What does she miss most about her old life with her family? What does she appreciate most about her new life with the Vermeers?

14. Discuss the setting of Delft, Netherlands. How did Tracy Chevalier make this historical city come alive in the story? How does the setting tie into the themes of art and beauty in this novel?

Контрольные задания

THE GODFATHER by Mario Puzo

1. Which of these characters is the Don at the beginning of the book?

(A) Vito Corleone

(B) Frederico Corleone

(C) Santino Corleone

(D) Michael Corleone

2. What is unusual about Tom Hagen being chosen for Don Corleone's "consigliori"?

(A) He is the Don's illegitimate son.

(B) He is not a Corleone.

(C) He is not Sicilian.

(D) He once tried to kill Don Corleone.

3. Who is the famous singer/movie star/producer?

(A) Johnny Fontane

(B) Rocco Lampone

(C) Luca Brasi

(D) Carlo Rizzi

4. What is the name of the Sicilian village where Don Corleone was born?

(A) Andolini

(B) Corleone

(C) Ficuzza

(D) None of these

5. The Godfather tells the story of…

1. one generation of the Corleone family.

2. two generations of the Corleone family.

3. three generations of the Corleone family.

4. four generations of the Corleone family.

6. When exiled in Sicily, Michael Corleone learned a lot about his roots. What did he discover the word "mafia" meant, before it became the name for the secret organization?

(A) church

(B) place of refuge

(C) market

(D) friends

7. What happens to a member of the Family if he is put in jail?

(A) He is shot so he won't talk.

(B) The Family takes care of his wife and children.

(C) His wife and children are taken hostage so he won't talk.

(D) The Family denies knowing him.

8. What is the Italian term for the "law of silence"?

(A) consigliori

(B) lupara

(C) caporegime

(D) omerta

9. Why does Michael go to Italy?

(A) on the run from the law

(B) going to get married

(C) doing a job for his father

(D) no particular reason

10. Sonny is …

(A) the Corleone family's adopted son

(B) a weak-willed drunkard

(C) a hot-tempered ladies man

(D) Coeleone’s youngest son

11. Vito Corleone’s reputation rose as …

(A) his business grew.

(B) he showed his capacity for violence by killing.

(C) he did favors for the people in the neighborhood, asking only their friendship in return.

(D) he established gambling syndicates.

12. Michael comes to appreciate the culture of his father's people …

(A) during his sister’s wedding.

(B) in Sicily.

(C) in Las Vegas.

(D) in Italy.

13. One of the main values for Vito Corleone is …

(A) freedom.

(B) wealth.

(C) crime.

(D) gambling.

14. Michael and Vito Corleone have such trait(s) in common as…

(A) innocence.

(B) two wives.

(C) cool heads and impeccable logic.

(D) They have nothing in common.

15. The Godfather relates to all stories of immigrant families…

(A) who are trying to keep to their religion.

(B) who are trying to come back to their native land.

(C) struggled with native Americans.

(D) who are trying to fit into the mainstream of American life.

full title	The Godfather
author	Mario Puzo
type of work	…
genre	Crime thriller
date of publication	…
narrator	…
point of view	mostly third person
tone	neutral with cynical sense of humor
tense	…
setting (time)   setting (place)	the United States of America in the 1950's predominantly New York
protagonist	…
major conflict	Don Corleone's struggle among the underworld bosses for power, and how family values are transferred from one generation to the next and how they change under social pressure.
rising action	…
climax	…
falling action	On the day that Michael stands as godfather at the baptism of Connie and Carlo's child, all of the family's enemies are murdered.
themes	love, crime, family bondage, and Old World values
motifs	mafia, corruption, violence, honour
symbols	…

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN by John Fowles

1. The setting throughout the novel is predominantly …

   1. modern.

   2. the beginning of the 19^th century.

   3. Elizabethan.

   4. Victorian.

2. The male protagonist of the novel is …

   1. John Fowles

   2. Charles Smithson

   3. Dr. Grogan

   4. Charles Dickens

3. The bearer of the book’s title is …

   1. Mrs. Fairley.

   2. Ernestina Freeman.

   3. Sarah Woodruff.

   4. unknown.

4. Charles is a wealthy Victorian gentleman who is interested in…

   1. philosophy.

   2. Darwin and paleontology.

   3. love affairs and drinking.

   4. baseball and football.

5. Sarah Woodruff is also known by the nickname…

   1. Escape

   2. Sorrow

   3. Outcast

   4. Tragedy

6. Charles is intrigued by Sarah because …

   1. she is a wealthy heiress.

   2. he finds her singularly different from other Victorian woman.

   3. she is well-educated.

   4. she recites his favorite poems.

7. Sarah asks Charles to help her …

   1. forget about the French naval officer.

   2. improve her education.

   3. find her parents.

   4. escape Mrs. Poulteney's control.

8. Sarah spends her limited time off domestic work on the Cobb at Lyme Regis…

   1. meeting friends.

   2. staring at the sea.

   3. dating with French officer.

   4. searching for fossils.

9. At the beginning of the novel, Charles Smithson and Ernestina Freeman are …

   1. close relatives.

   2. outcasts.

   3. interested in the theories of Darwin.

   4. engaged to be married.

10. The climax of the story comes when…

    1. Charles breaks his engagement with Ernestina and goes to Exeter to meet Sarah.

    2. Sarah has changed drastically so Charles cannot adapt himself to this change.

    3. Ernestina tells Charles something of Sarah's story, and he develops a strong curiosity about her.

    4. Charles marries Ernestina.

1. Some time passes and Charles meets Sarah in …

   1. his own home.

   2. Rossetti's home.

   3. Darwin’s home.

   4. Browning’s home.

2. Charles hires private investigators to find Sarah and departs for …

   1. America

   2. France

   3. Italy

   4. Germany

3. In the book the author offers analyses on …

   1. the consequences of World War I.

   2. modern literature.

   3. modern views and ideas.

   4. Victorian customs and class differences.

4. Each chapter contains at least…

   1. one poem.

   2. one epilogue

   3. one epigraph.

   4. one photo.

5. The author concludes the book with…

   1. two endings.

   2. three endings.

   3. four endings.

   4. one ending.

full title	The French Lieutenant's Woman
author	John Fowles
type of work	novel
genre	historical, social, …
date of publication	1969
narrator	the persona of John Fowles, the author
point of view	…
tone	somber and turbulent
tense	Past and present
setting (time)   setting (place)	The setting throughout the novel is predominantly Victorian. Most of the novel’s action takes place at Lyme Regis, Dorset, England
protagonist	Sarah
major conflict	…
rising action	…
climax	Charles breaks his engagement with Ernestina when he realizes that he loves Sarah but when he goes to Exeter to meet her, he does not find her.
falling action	…
themes	Author’s thematic concerns range from the relationship between life and art and the artist and his creation to the isolation that results from an individual struggling for selfhood.
motifs	Different aspects of Victorian society
symbols	…

A TIME TO KILL by John Grisham

1. The setting of the novel is…

(A) the town in the southern states of the United States.

(B) the town in the western states of the United States.

(C) the town in the eastern states of the United States.

(D) the town in the northern states of the United States.

2. The story starts out with …

(A) Carl Lee who informs Jake about his plans.

(B) the history of the Klan.

(C) Tonya Hailey who is raped and beaten.

(D) the meeting of the jury.

3. How does Carl Lee plan his attack on Billy Ray and Pete Cobb?

(A) He wants to kill them in the evening.

(B) He shoots and kills them in the town courthouse.

(C) He kills them in the wood.

(D) He kills them by accident.

4. What kind of weapon does Carl Lee use to kill Billy Ray and Pete?

(A) a knife

(B) a revolver

(C) a rope

(D) an automatic weapon used by U.S. army.

5. Jake Brigance agrees to defend Carl Lee because …

(A) He really believes that Carl Lee is not guilty.

(B) He wants revenge his enemies.

(C) Carl Lee is his relative.

(D) He believes the case will make him and his family famous and rich.

6. Why does Ethel leave work?

(A) She is threatened by Jake.

(B) Her husband is killed by the Klan.

(C) She is tired of not being well paid.

(D) Her brother is one of the rapists.

7. What is the purpose of the Klan?

(A) To frighten black people.

(B) To frighten Indians.

(C) To frighten white people.

(D) To defend black people.

8. What happens on the day the trial begins?

(A) The Klan puts a bomb on Jake’s house.

(B) There is a riot outside the court building between the Klan and the area’s black residents.

(C) Ellen Roark, a law student, offers to be Jake’s client.

(D) Ellen is also attacked by Klan members.

9. Why did Dr. Bass consider Carl Lee insane?

(A) Carl Lee could not tell the difference between right and wrong at the moment of the shooting.

(B) Because his daughter had been raped and he was mentally unstable.

(C) Because he had talked to Carl Lee and noticed he was mentally unstable.

(D) He generally speaks too much and asks too many questions.

10. One of the methods used by the Klan is…

(A) a TV show.

(B) a newspaper article.

(C) the burning of animals.

(D) the burning of crosses.

11. Why is National Guard called to Clanton?

(A) to keep the peace during the trial

(B) to ask questions during the trial

(C) to help the Klan

(D) to defend Carl Lee

12. Buckley, the prosecuting attorney, hopes to win the case because he wants …

(A) to revenge for Carl Lee’s killing of his brother.

(B) to be elected to a higher public officer.

(C) to discredit Jake Brigance.

(D)to save Carl Lee.

13. Finally, Jake was able to convince the jury that …

(A) Carl Lee is guilty.

(B) The Klan is guilty.

(C) Carl Lee is innocent.

(D) Nobody is guilty.

14. What persuades the jury to believe that Carl was insane?

(A) Dr. Bass’s appearance in court.

(B) Jake’s final speech.

(C) Wanda Warnack’s idea to imagine that the rape victim was white, not black.

(D) The Ku Klux Klan leader’s speech.

15. What is the theme of the novel?

(A) Racial discrimination

(B) The law

(C) Ethics

(D) All of these

full title	A Time To Kill
author	John Grisham
type of work	novel
genre	…
date of publication	1989
narrator	…
point of view	written in the third person limited from a collection of different perspectives
tone	…
tense	…
setting (time)   setting (place)	Clanton, Mississippi
protagonist	…
major conflict	…
rising action	The novel begins with the vicious rape of a ten-year-old black girl by two white men. They are quickly arrested and charged. The girl’s father, Carl Lee Hailey, plans the murder of the two rapists and shoots and kills them.
climax	…
falling action	…
themes	Racial discrimination and the law
motifs	The issue of “right against wrong”, the Ku Klux Klan,
symbols	…

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING by Tracy Chevalier

1. How old is Griet at the beginning of the novel?

(A) 14

(B) 16

(C) 18

(D) 26

2. What is Griet doing when she first meets her employer?

(A) Sweeping the floor

(B) Washing dishes

(C) Washing windows

(D) Chopping vegetables

3. The famous painter described in the novel is …

(A) Vermeer

(B) Reubens

(C) Rembrandt

(D) Van Dyke

4. Who is the young man interested in Griet?

(A) Johannes the son

(B) Lars the son

(C) Pieter the son

(D) Jans the son

5. How does Griet's family react to the death of the youngest daughter?

(A) They are so divided they do not all know about her death.

(B) They recover quickly.

(C) They continue living normally out of shock.

(D) They never recover from the loss.

6. Why did Griet work as a maid?

(A) She fell in love with Vermeer.

(B) She wanted to bring income to her struggling family.

(C) She wanted to see Vermeer’s paintings in the flesh.

(D) She wanted to be the part of Vermeer’s works.

7. What was the colour of one of the pieces of fabric Vermeer gave Griet to cover her hair in?

(A) Black.

(B) Red.

(C) Gold.

(D) White.

9. Griet keeps her hair hidden because …

(A) for her it symbolizes a wild side of her, her sexuality.

(B) Vermeer asks her to do it.

(C) all women follow this tradition.

(D) it is not beautiful.

10. Why did Vermeer ask Griet to run errands and perform tasks for him?

(A) He wanted to attract Griet’s attention.

(B) He discovered that Griet had an eye for art.

(C) Griet was a faithful servant.

(D) Vermeer became blind.

11. Vermeer was far more interested in…

(A) his wife than in Griet.

(B) his family than in paintings.

(C) money than in paintings.

(D) paintings than in people.

12. Griet was forced to leave Vermeer’s house when …

(A) Catharina discovered that her husband asked Griet to wear pearl earrings.

(B) her sister was ill.

(C) her father died.

(D) Vermeer finished the painting.

8. How much money does Griet get for the earrings?

(A) 10 guilders.

(B) 20 guilders.

(C) 15 guilders.

(D) 30 guilders.

13. Why does Griet sell pearl earrings?

(A) She pays her husband’s debt.

(B) Griet realizes that she could no more wear pearl earrings as a butcher's wife.

(C) Griet wants to buy some food for her family.

(D) Griet wants to forget about Vermeer and his painting.

14. Griet can be best described as…

(A) volatile and shrewd.

(B) intelligent and perceptive.

(C) nervous and hot-tempered.

(D) emotional and communicative.

15. The main theme of the novel is …

(A) urban life.

(B) patrons and painters.

(C) religion and art.

(D) the value of art.

full title	Girl with a Pearl Earring
author	…
type of work	novel
genre	historical novel
date of publication	1999
narrator	Griet
point of view	first person, told through Griet's perspective
tone	…
tense	past
setting (time)   setting (place)	Delft, Netherlands
protagonist	Griet
major conflict	…
rising action	Griet is a sixteen-year-old girl chopping vegetables in the kitchen for the family stew. This simple domestic act leads to a troublesome job working for the painter Vermeer, and eventually sitting as the model for his most famous painting.
climax	…
falling action	…
themes	The value of art
motifs	…
symbols	…