Revision for exam.

Parts 1 and 2:

• You will answer one or two questions on individual stories or comparisons, thus in revising aim to know well at least three stories on which you are prepared to answer any question.
• You will answer one or two questions on theoretical and historical aspects, so revise several of the major areas we discussed, and have supporting material from particular stories to illustrate your points.
• Review the web pages for each story that interests you; most pages provide some technical, theoretical, or historical information that you can absorb and internalize -- as well as using your own research.

Remember that the main issues we have been concerned with are:

History of the short story:

• Realism (individual in social context, plot);
• Modernism (consciousness, epiphany, minimizing plot);
• Postmodernism (loss of story, stereotypes, simulacra, ideology, linguistic relativism);
• Postcolonial perspective (native perspective, subaltern culture; two cultures, languages; liminality);
• Male/female style.

Technical aspects of style:

• Sound, syntax (sentence structure, etc.), semantic aspects (e.g., figurative language);
• imagery, symbolism.

Narrative features:

• character,
• setting,
• episodes,
• discourse styles,
• narrators,
• point of view,
• temporal shifts.

You can write about materials covered in essays or the project; but you will find that the questions probably require a different angle.

You will write three short essays in two hours. Take a little time planning; try to include the features of a good essay: thesis statement, individual paragraphs with topic sentences, a conclusion that indicates what you have achieved and signals the larger perspective.

Write on both sides of the paper, and single-spaced unless your writing is large.

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Document prepared April 6th 2004