CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE Quiz: Feminist Theory, Gender Studies, and Queer Theory Question 1 "Bartleby the Scrivener:

CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE

Quiz: Feminist Theory, Gender Studies, and Queer Theory

Question 1

"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street," by Herman Melville, deals with a copyist who answers "I prefer not to" whenever he is asked to work by his employer. Which critical approach seems most appropriate to assess the story based on this content?

o  New Historicism

o  Marxist Theory

o  cultural studies

o  Structuralism

Question 2

In Sylvia Plath's "Daddy," the narrator is haunted by memories of her dead father whom she pictures as a Nazi and a vampire. Which critical approach seems most appropriate to examine the meaning of the poem?

o  Formalism

o  Marxism

o  Psychoanalytic Theory

o  New Historicism

Question 3

According to the theories in this module, which of the following is true about gender?

o  It is determined by biology.

o  It is influenced by culture.

o  It is either male or female.

o  It is unchangeable.

Question 4

In Anthony Trollope's 1861 work A Ride Across Palestine, Mr. Jones travels across the desert with a woman who is dressed as a man, and he does not realize she is female. Which of the following theories could be applied to the text?

o  Queer Theory because cross-dressing would have been considered a nonnormative behavior

o  Gender Theory because the female character assumes behaviors that would be considered masculine by the culture

o  Feminist Theory because the work deals with obstacles women had to face when traveling in the nineteenth century

o  all of the above

Question 5

In which of the following ways is Feminist Theory most like Marxist Theory?

o  both consider how culture is built on a system of oppression

o  both concentrate strongly on economics

o  both look at literature for evidence of individuals' hidden desires

o  both explore the significance of gender in individual perceptions of culture

Question 6

What impact has Feminist Theory had on society?

o  It has provided examples of unequal distribution of wealth in society.

o  It has added new works to the literature we read.

o  It has taught students of literature about close reading.

o  It has made readers think about the mental state of the author when creating literature.

 Question 7 (6 points)

Which of the following would best justify a feminist approach to reading The Lord of the Rings?

o  how few female characters appear in the entire series

o  the way the male heroes represent traditional ideas of masculinity

o  the love expressed between the male characters Frodo and Samwise as well as Legolas and Gimli

o  the influence of the author's experiences during World War I on the plot

Question 8 (6 points)

Which social development most directly influenced the current use of Feminist Theory as a critical approach to literature?

o  Marxism

o  First-Wave feminism

o  Second-Wave feminism

o  Third-Wave feminism

Question 9 (6 points)

What is the difference between gender studies and queer theory?

o  They are essentially the same thing, so there is no significant difference.

o  Queer theory focuses on aspects of difference from the norm while gender theory looks at the connection between gender and culture.

o  Queer theory does not consider the experience of men at all.

o  Gender studies does not consider GLBTQ experiences but queer theory does.

Question 10 (6 points)

What previous theories influenced the creation of Gender Studies?

o  Feminist Theory

o  Poststructuralism

o  Formalism

o  both A and B