English IV Final Exam Study Guide
DON’T PANIC!
WHEN will the test be?
Period 1: 8 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18
Period 2: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18
Period 3: 8 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19
Period 4: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19
WHAT will the test include?
- Five multiple-choice questions (Vocabulary): 2 points each
- Five sentences you create (Vocabulary): 2 points each
- Five short answer questions (similar to weekly quizzes): 2 points each
- Ten literary passages you’ll have to answer questions about: 3 points each
- One essay: 40 points
WHAT will the test cover?
Vocabulary:
1.altercation (noun):
2. aberration (noun):
3. audacious (adjective):
4. magnanimous (adjective):
5. languor (noun):
6.abashed (adjective):
7.mortify (verb):
8. obsequious (adjective):
9.supercilious (adjective):
10. panegyric (noun):
12. insolent (adjective):
13. avarice (noun):
14. ostentatious (adjective):
15.trepidation (noun):
1. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet:
2. JaneBennet:
3. Elizabeth Bennet:
4. Lydia Bennet:
5. Mr. Charles Bingley:
6. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy:
7. The Bingley sisters:
8. Mr. William Collins:
9. Mr. George Wickham:
10. Lady Catherine de Bourgh:
Literary Terms:
1. Mood:
2. Irony:
3. Suspense:
4.Tone:
5. Archetype:
6. Style:
7. Philosophy:
8. Point of View:
9. Comedy:
10. Feminism:
WHAT will the essays ask?
ONE of the following questions will appear on the exam for an essay of at least five paragraphs.
A.“To Elizabeth it appeared that had her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening, it would have been impossible for them to play their parts with more spirit or finer success; and happy did she think it for Bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his notice.”
As a comedy of manners, Pride and Prejudice is filled with characters who distinguish themselves by their bad behavior: disdainful Darcy, obsequious Mr. Collins, flirtatious Lydia and the proud and haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh, among many others.
Yet beneath the surface of the novel’s comedy lies a sobering truth: the novel’s characters live in a world where they are routinely judged -- and misjudged – according to their manners. In this world, one display of embarrassing behavior can ruin the reputation not only of an individual, but of his or her family as well.
How does the behavior of characters in Pride and Prejudice help – or hurt – their reputations? Are women and men held to the same standards? Are people today given greater latitude to behave badly, or must they be just as careful to safeguard their reputations? Be sure to support your answer with examples from the text.
B. “There is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel. I should never be happy without him, so think it no harm to be off. You need not send them word at Longbourn of my going, if you do not like it, for it will make the surprise the greater when I write to them, and sign my name Lydia Wickham. What a good joke it will be!”
Defying the wishes of her family – and the conventions of the society in which she lives – Lydia Bennet runs away with the dashing young soldier George Wickham and marries him, despite his relative poverty. In Pride and Prejudice, Lydia is portrayed as a thoughtless fool whose bad behavior threatens the fortunes and reputation of Elizabeth and her other sisters. Would a modern audience view her the same way?
Write a letter from the point of view of either Lydia or Elizabeth explaining that character’s view of the situation. Is Lydia an assertive heroine or a naïve blunderer? Which is more important – love and personal happiness or the needs of one’s family? Have risk-takers like Lydia helped make modern views on love and marriage possible? Be sure to support your answer with examples from the text.
C. “Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been (Charlotte’s) object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.”
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennetis horrified when Charlotte Lucas, her best friend, marries the odious Mr. Collins, a man Elizabeth herself has rejected. Elizabeth believes in a marriage of equals between two people who love each other. Charlotte, however, contends that she is happy with a comfortable home and a secure fortune, and warns Elizabeth that her pursuit of an ideal marriage may leave her poor and alone.
In what ways is marriage both a romantic and an economic relationship? Do you agree with either Charlotte or Elizabeth? Why? Whose position does the author, Jane Austen, support? Be sure to support your answer with examples from the text.
D. “I believe that virtue shows quite as well in rags and palaces as she does in purple and fine linen.... I believe that she goes barefoot as well as shod. I believe that she dwells rather oftener in alleys and by-ways than she does in courts and palaces...”
--Charles Dickens
“There are such beings in the World perhaps, one in a Thousand, as the Creature You & I should think perfection, where Grace & Spirit are united to Worth, where the Manners are equal to the Heart & Understanding, but such a person may not come in your way, or if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a Man of Fortune, the Brother of your particular friend & belonging to your own County.”
--Jane Austen
The question of class and social status is a common theme in both Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice. In Great Expectations, the young apprentice blacksmith Pip dreams of becoming a wealthy gentleman, even though his closest friends warn him that the change of status would not suit him. In Pride and Prejudice, by contrast, Elizabeth Bennet is urged by her family and friends to marry a man of good fortune, while she would prefer to spend her life with a man she loved who treated her with respect, regardless of his social status.
How would you characterize the philosophies of each author with regards to social class? Do the differences between them reflect the different times in which each lived, or the fact that men and women may be held to different standards? Does one represent a more realistic viewpoint? Be sure to support your answer with examples from the text.