Prose: Practice Questions

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," found in Stories of Ourselves, Volume 1, what is the primary reason the narrator’s husband, John, forbids her from working or writing?

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, how does the visit of Lady Catherine de Bourgh to Longbourn in Chapter 56 ironically contribute to the novel’s resolution?

In Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Garden Party’, how does Laura’s encounter with the dead body of the workman at the end of the story transform her perspective?

In Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss, how does the character of Biju’s experience in the United States contrast with Sai’s life in Kalimpong?

In Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust, what is the situational irony of Tony Last’s ultimate fate in the Brazilian jungle?

In Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust, how does Tony Last’s eventual imprisonment in the Brazilian jungle reading Dickens serve as a satirical commentary on the collapse of English aristocratic values?

In Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, the author uses a literal depiction of the railroad to explore historical and social realities.

(a) Analyze the narrative effect of representing the Underground Railroad as a physical system of tracks and tunnels rather than a metaphorical network.
(b) Compare the different 'versions' of America that Cora encounters in South Carolina and North Carolina, considering how each state presents a unique form of systemic oppression.
(c) To what extent does the character of Ridgeway represent the inescapable nature of the slave-catching industry and the ideology of 'manifest destiny'?

In Adam Thorpe’s short story 'Tyres', found in Stories of Ourselves, Volume 1, the narrator’s technical precision regarding his trade as a mechanic stands in stark contrast to the chaotic violence of the German occupation.

(a) Analyze how Thorpe uses the recurring motif of 'tyres' and rubber to foreshadow the tragic conclusion of the narrative and symbolize the pressure of the war.
(b) Discuss the presentation of Raoul’s relationship with Cecile, considering how the constraints of wartime France and the presence of the Resistance shape their interactions.
(c) To what extent does the story suggest that personal passivity or a focus on 'doing one's job' can lead to unintended complicity in times of political upheaval?