I gave you the syllabus to see what books and materials you need to refer to for help. If you have any questions let me know. Please write in simple, clear answers. Thank you! just be simple and clear with your answers

The final exam will be held in our regular classroom on Tuesday, December 19 from 10:30 to 1:15 . It consists of three parts, and (after 15 minutes for preparation) will last for two and a half hours. If you prefer to do the essay question in advance, you will need to finish by 12:15.

The exam will be closed book, except for a page of notes on normal-sized paper (both sides may be used). To make your exam easier to read, please be ready to write in ink .

Part I: Brief Identifications (45 minutes; 30%)

Write a paragraph that explains the significance of each item chosen (do not simply give some facts, but include meanings and importance). Twelve of the following fifteen items, which include characters, place-names, important objects, points of literary background, and memorable quotations, will appear on the final, and you should plan to write on nine of those twelve items.

1. Elstir. 2. The parable “Before the Law.” 3. Yalta. 4. The Surreal.

5. Crisis Fiction. 6. The Green Wall. 7. Tarrou. 8. The Providenza.

9. La Longa. 10. “She wants it to be you.” 11. Felix 12. The square root of -1. 13. Fräulein Bürstener 14. The painting of “Miss Sacripant.” 15. Basini

Part II: Close Analyses of Passages (pick 1 of 3; 45 minutes; 30%)

As with the Kafka and Proust exercises, you will be asked to analyze a passage, this time from a work in Unit IV. You should discuss how it illustrates the author’s themes and techniques, how they contribute to the work they come from, and/or how they typify some important issue in Unit IV.

Part IV: Essay Question (Pick 1 of 3; 1 hour; 40%)

Write an essay on a broad topic involving four works from several units in the course. Be sure to plan an answer that devotes several paragraphs to each work, including some detailed discussion of specific, telling examples. If you wish, you may prepare the essay outside class and submit it in word-processed format at the beginning of the final. These essays should be between1000 and 1200 words in length.

The three questions below will appear on the final. If the assumptions for the question you choose to discuss seem debatable, you may refute it or accept it with qualifications. But be sure to discuss the four authors or works named in the question.

1. Among fiction writers on the Continent from 1880 to 1950, Kafka and Proust are the best-known; but after reading them yourself, do you believe they deserve their fame? Using any criterion for evaluating fiction that you consider suitable – such as complexity of characterization, depth and variety of major themes, originality of style, or some other factor or set of factors that you think is more appropriate – compare both Kafka and Proust to one writer from Unit I and one from Unit IV and discuss how well their reputations hold up alongside these possible rivals.

2. Adolescence has sometimes been described as a “season of youth and innocence,” one that has its own distinctive attitudes and problems. To what extent does considering the period before full adulthood as a special stage in life give insight into the following characters: Törless, Erick, Proust’s narrator, and ‘Ntoni’s ‘Ntoni? For the purpose of this question, you should bear in mind that in certain circumstances a character who is no longer young might still display adolescent traits.

3. Individuality can mean the ideal of self-realization, or a full unfolding of one's creative potential, while avoiding excesses like an egotistical disregard for others, or (by contrast) the loss of a healthy sense of self. Discuss how much the following characters live up to this ideal of individuality (or fall into excess of some kind): Chekhov’s Aksinya, Nabokov’s Herman, Kafka’s Josef K., and Zamiatin's I-330. With each character, consider whether this assertion needs to be qualified or redefined to ensure that it is in fact applicable. Which of these characters comes closest to this ideal and which one does so the least?