MH SET Paper 2 Mock Test - 7 (English) - MAHA TET MCQ

The correct answer is '1 - B, 2 - C, 3 - A, 4 - D.'

Key Points

• Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" is a key text in gender studies. It challenges traditional notions of gender and argues for a performative understanding of gender identity.
• Thomas Pynchon is associated with "The Crying of Lot 49," a novel known for its complex narrative and themes of paranoia and conspiracy.
• Michel Foucault's "The Order of Things" explores the history of several sciences, including natural history, linguistics, and economics.
• Julia Kristeva's "Powers of Horror" presents her theory of abjection, discussing the human reaction to the threatened breakdown in meaning caused by the loss of the distinction between subject and object or between self and other.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

Robert Browning accuses William Wordsworth in his poem "The Lost Reader".

The correct answer is 'Bilingual Method.'

Key Points 

• The Bilingual Method involves teaching language using both the native language (L1) and the target language (L2).
• This method aims to facilitate language acquisition by making connections between the learner's existing language knowledge and the new language.
• Students initially learn in their native language, gradually transitioning to the target language as their proficiency improves.
• The Bilingual Method is considered effective in promoting comprehension and allowing learners to build a strong foundation before fully immersing them in the target language.
• It is particularly useful for learners who may find it challenging to comprehend instructions solely in the target language.

Therefore, the correct option is ‘Option 3.’

Additional Information 

• Option 1 is incorrect. The Grammar-Translation Method emphasizes grammar rules and translation exercises.
• Option 2 is incorrect. Communicative Language Teaching focuses on communication as the primary goal in language learning.
• Option 4 is incorrect. The Direct Method involves teaching in the target language, avoiding the use of the native language.

The correct answer is Stephen Greenblatt.

Key Points

• Stephen Jay Greenblatt, was born November 7, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
• He is an American scholar who was credited with establishing New Historicism, an approach to literary criticism.
• New Historicism is a literary theory based on the idea that literary and non-literary texts should be studied and interpreted parallelly within the larger context of historical period.

Therefore the correct answer is Option 4.

Additional Information

• Alan Sinfield, a pioneer of queer Studies, added new dimensions to the understanding of Shakespeare.
• Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. 

The correct answer is Option 1: Recommending the establishment of universities in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.

Key Points

• The Woods Dispatch made a significant recommendation regarding the establishment of universities in the three Presidencies of India - Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
• The dispatch believed that higher education was essential for the creation of a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.
• As a result of these recommendations, the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were set up in 1857, providing the foundation for modern higher education in India.
• The Dispatch did not advocate for the removal of vernacular languages from the education system. In fact, it suggested that English and vernacular languages should be used as mediums of instruction.
• The Dispatch did not propose to eliminate all private educational institutions. Instead, it proposed a system of "grant-in-aid" to support private schools.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

The correct answer is 'Frankfurt School.'

 Key Points

• The Frankfurt School, established in the early 20th century in Germany, is a group of intellectuals associated with critical theory and cultural critique.
• Key members include Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, and Herbert Marcuse, among others.
• The school is known for its examination of the intersections between culture, mass media, and the impact of capitalism on society.
• Critical theory, as developed by the Frankfurt School, seeks to understand and critique societal structures, ideology, and cultural production.
• The Frankfurt School's work has had a lasting influence on fields such as sociology, cultural studies, and philosophy.

Therefore, the correct option is ‘Option 1.’

Additional Information

• Option 2 is incorrect. The Bloomsbury Group was a literary and artistic group in London, known for its members like Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster.
• Option 3 is incorrect. The Beat Generation was a literary movement in the 1950s and 1960s, with figures like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.
• Option 4 is incorrect. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in the early 20th century, centered in Harlem, New York

• Nancy Chodorow is a feminist sociologist and psychoanalyst best known for her influential book “The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender” which was published in 1978.

• She dealt with the mother-daughter relationship, reproduction of motherhood and female psychology in the book.

• Carol Gilligan was an American feminist and psychoanalyst put a landmark in Feminist theories with her book, A Different Voice and Difference feminists.

• She argued that Psychology had been unknowingly ignoring the voices and experiences of half the human race.

The correct answer is "The Metamorphosis".

Key Points

• "The Metamorphosis" is one of Franz Kafka's most celebrated works, published in 1915. This novella delves deeply into themes of alienation, existential dread, and the absurdity of life, through the disturbing tale of Gregor Samsa, a man who inexplicably transforms into a giant insect.
• Kafka uses the bizarre and grotesque transformation of Gregor to explore the impact of radical change on identity, personal relationships, and societal expectations. Gregor’s alienation in his new form mirrors the existential struggles faced by individuals in modern society.
• The work is emblematic of Kafka’s absurdist perspective, illustrating a world where conventional logic and norms no longer apply, and where individuals are often trapped by inexplicable and unfathomable forces.
• "The Metamorphosis" is regarded as a seminal text in 20th-century literature, influencing existential and absurdist philosophies. It exemplifies Kafka's talent for embedding profound philosophical and social critiques in surreal, allegorical narratives.
• The novella forces readers to confront the fragility of human existence and the often arbitrary, absurd nature of the world, making it a prime example of Kafka’s exploration of alienation and existential angst.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Additional Information

• "The Trial" and "The Castle" also reflect Kafka’s preoccupation with these themes, focusing on the bewildering experience of individuals caught in the incomprehensible machinery of the law and bureaucratic authority.
• "America", also known as "The Man Who Disappeared", examines themes of alienation and the search for identity in a new world but does not feature the same level of existential angst and absurdity as found in "The Metamorphosis."

The correct answer is '1 - C, 2 - D, 3-B, 4 - A  .'

Key Points

• Jacques Derrida is associated with "Of Grammatology," a seminal work in which he develops the concept of "deconstruction." This approach challenges the idea that texts have a fixed and stable meaning.
• Michel Foucault is the author of "The History of Sexuality," a three-volume study of sexuality in the western world. Foucault explores the relationship between power, knowledge, and sexuality, challenging notions of a repressed sexuality since the 17th century.
• Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" is a foundational text in feminist theory. It explores the treatment of women throughout history and is famous for the quote: "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."
• Edward Said's "Orientalism" critiques Western depictions of the Eastern world, or the 'Orient.' He argues that these depictions, rooted in a colonial mindset, serve to reinforce Western identity and superiority.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

The next two novels, The Return of the Native (1878) and The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), established Hardy as a formidable writer. Hardy published two more novels, Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895), which were his last long fiction works.

• Thomas Carlyle was the most noted satirist, philosopher and social critic of the Victorian Period, who influence several writers and philosophers throughout his life. He is termed as the Sage of Chelsea. His writings affects not only Victorian writers but also writers of coming of ages. He had a major effect even on Ruskin and Arnold and on realistic writers like Dickens, Gaskell, Eliot, Disaraeli, Kingsley and others as well.
• In Caryle’s writings, dickens encountered criticism of the social problems of victorian age which impart him better understanding of society and its problemslater painted in his famous novels. moreover, the French revolution: a History was the inspiration behind the creation of novel, “A Tale of two Cities” and a memorable narrative in Charles Dickens’s novel “Hard Times”, whose subtitle “For These Times” is indebted to Carlyle’s essay. Elizabeth Gaskell, a social Novelist also indebted to the famous writings of Carlyle. Her celebrated industrial novel ‘North and South” took inspiration from Carlyle’s writings, and adhere to a Carlylean ideology.

• King Alfred, the Great was a monarch of Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom from 871 to 899. He is mostly remembered for successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking conquest and for encouraging. the English Language to create National identity. After success against Viking conquest, he imparted his attention to the educational system and proposed that primary education be taught in English and because of only his insistence English became the official written language of England. He retain political control over countries and become the dominant ruler of England.

• King Arthur is a renowned British leader, who played a remarkable role in leading the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and 6th centuries AD. Arthur is a central figure in the legends called matter of Britain. He also served as inspiration for many works, including Morted Arthur, The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson and The Egyptian Maid by Wordsworth.

• Ethelbert of Kent was the ruler of Kent from about 589 to throughout his life. He was best known for being the first English king to convert to Christianity.

• Edward the Elder was the King of Anglo-Saxon Kingdom from 899 until his death. He was the son of Alfred the Great and successor as a king after his death in 899 AD.

The book itself is divided into six major categories, called "six revisionary ratios" by Bloom. They are clinamen, tessera, kenosis, daemonization, askesis, and apophrades.

Written in the form of a dramatic monologue, the poem expresses the principle to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

The correct answer is '(a) - (iii), (b) - (i), (c) - (ii), (d) - (iv)'.

Key Points

• "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is one of the great American novels, known for its vivid depictions of people and places along the Mississippi River.
• "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville is a towering work of American literature, focusing on the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on a giant white sperm whale.
• "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered a masterpiece for its exploration of the Jazz Age and the American Dream's disillusionment.
• "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is a poignant narrative about an aging Cuban fisherman's struggle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Options 2, 3, and 4 incorrectly match writers to works not associated with them.

The correct answer is 'Hamartia'.

Key Points

• Definition and Role: Hamartia refers to the tragic flaw or error in judgment that ultimately leads to the protagonist’s downfall in a tragedy. It is a pivotal concept in Aristotle's analysis of tragic heroes.
• Origin of Downfall: Unlike a conscious choice to do evil, hamartia is often an unintentional mistake or a lack of knowledge, highlighting a more complex cause of the tragic events.
• Human Imperfection: This concept underscores the human aspect of tragedy, showcasing that flaws and errors are inherent to humanity.
• Aristotle's Tragic Hero: For Aristotle, the presence of hamartia is crucial in creating a tragic hero that is relatable and evokes pity and fear in the audience, which are essential for achieving catharsis.
• Narrative and Dramatic Importance: Hamartia is fundamental in the narrative structure of a tragedy, initiating the chain of events that lead to the hero’s demise and underlining the moral lessons of the story.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4'.

Additional Information

• Option 1: Ethos is related to the character and credibility of the speaker in rhetoric, not directly relevant to the concept of tragic flaw or error.
• Option 2: Peripeteia refers to a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances in the plot of a tragedy.
• Option 3: Anagnorisis denotes the moment in a play when a character makes a critical discovery about his identity or the true nature of his situation.

The correct answer is 'The difficulty for someone to leave her'.

Key Points

• Jane implies that having beauty and wealth could have made it as hard for the person she addresses to leave her as it is now for her to leave them.
• This statement underlines the societal influence on relationships, where attractiveness and financial means are seen as factors that can bind people together.
• Jane is critiquing the superficial values that govern social interactions and the forming or breaking of bonds between individuals.
• It points toward the unfair advantage that societal standards give to those with wealth and beauty, in matters of love and affection.
• The mention of these attributes in the context of leaving suggests that Jane understands their perceived value in retaining personal relationships.
• This highlights Brontë's commentary on the transactional nature of relationships during the Victorian era, guided by societal expectations and not just personal affection or compatibility.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 4'.

Additional Information

• Jane's aspirations, fondness for reading, and relationship status: While these are integral parts of the novel, they are not directly related to the implications of beauty and wealth as mentioned in the excerpt.

The correct answer is "The English Education Act of 1835".

Key Points

• The English Education Act of 1835 was a critical legislative act passed by the British government in India that marked the formal introduction of English as the medium of education in Indian schools and colleges.
• The act advocated by Lord Macaulay, a member of the Governor-General's Council, aimed to create a class of people who were "Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect."
• The introduction of English education was part of the British effort to educate Indians in Western sciences and philosophies, intending to prepare them for roles in administration and to promote British cultural values.
• This act led to the founding of several English-medium schools and colleges across India, significantly impacting Indian society and its subsequent colonial and post-colonial developments.
• The act also signalled a shift in British educational policy in India, from patronizing traditional Indian learning to promoting European kducation, thereby influencing the socio-political fabric and intellectual movements in 19th-century India.

Tristram Shandy is one of the great books of prose fiction and best remembered for its unconventional time scheme and its self-declared digressive-progressive style. Tristram is the protagonist as well as the narrator of the novel.

He is constantly interrupting himself to explain the background to each event which make the story to move slowly. Tristram says, “In a word, my work is digressive, and it is progressive too, —–and at the same time… I have constructed the main work and the adventitious parts of it with such intersections, and have so complicated and involved the digressive and progress movements, one wheel within another, that the whole machine, in general, has been kept a-going”.

• Kinetic imagery is one of the five imageries, which corresponds our five senses. It includes movement, sense of touch, feelings and temperature also.
• Here, in the given poem velvet head is an example of visual imagery as it represents the beauty and delicacy of the bird’s head.
• The other three are examples of Kinetic imagery as these are reflecting the movements of the bird.

The Canterbury Tales is the most popular work of Chaucer and read widely as well as appreciated in every literary age. The tales have total 32 characters, including the narrator (Chaucer himself). It represents almost every occupation and standard of society during his time. All the characters represent mainly three different classes of society.

For example, characters like the knight, squire represent chivalry or nobility while the monk, the pardoner, summoner stands for church and cook, miller, carpenter, clerk and the physician are mouthpieces of commoners.

• Vikram Seth is an Indian poet and novelist, best known for his novel A Suitable Boy. He had bought and renovated the house of the metaphysical poet, George Herbert in the year 1996. George Herbert lived there for three years and died in 1633 in the same house. Seth explains that his association with the house and poems of Herbert has inspired him to write many poem particularly, “The Rivered Earth. “

• Daljit Nagra is a UK-based Indian Poet, widely known for giving voice to the experience of Indians born in the UK, specially Sikhs in his poems.

• Amitava Kumar is an Indian poet and novelist now settled in Newyork with his family. He also authored regular articles in famous magazines and newspapers, across the world.

• Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and social activist, best known for winning Booker prize for her debut novel, The God of Small Things.

In 1919, the President of the Board of Education, HAL Fisher, appointed a Departmental Committee to inquire into the position occupied by English in the educational system of England.

The first major report on The Teaching of English in England was published in 1921 known as the Newbolt Report named after The Chair of the Committee, Sir Henry Newbolt.

He was an English poet and historian and a powerful government adviser as well.

The correct answer is  Black Mountain Review.

Key Points

• Black Mountain Review was a significant literary journal associated with the Black Mountain poets and the Beat Generation writers.
• The journal was published by Black Mountain College, an experimental arts college in North Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s.
• It showcased the works of influential writers like Allen Ginsberg, Robert Creeley, and Denise Levertov, among others.
• Black Mountain Review played a crucial role in promoting the avant-garde and experimental literature of the time, reflecting the countercultural spirit and unconventional aesthetics of the Beat Generation.
• The journal's contributions to the literary landscape of the era make it a notable publication in the history of American literature.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

John Dryden described Geoffrey Chaucer as " a rough diamond,  and must first be polished ere he shines...... " 
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet and author. Widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages, he is best known for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is known as the "Father of English literature", and he was the first writer to be buried in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.

The correct answer is 'The conflict between faith and doubt'.

Key Points

• "The Brothers Karamazov" delves deeply into the theme of the conflict between faith and doubt, with characters embodying various positions on the theological and existential spectrum, thus representing Dostoevsky's own exploration of these issues.
• This central theme is most vividly portrayed in the conversations between Ivan and Alyosha Karamazov, where Ivan expresses his intellectual doubts about God and morality, while Alyosha represents a more embodied, steadfast faith.
• The novel examines how characters struggle with the existence of evil and suffering in a world supposedly created by a just and loving God, challenging readers to consider the implications of faith in the face of seemingly unjust realities.
• Dostoevsky’s exploration of this theme questions the possibility of moral absolutes and the nature of ethical behavior without the grounding of religious belief, inviting a nuanced consideration of how faith and doubt coexist within the human experience.
• Through its characters and plot, "The Brothers Karamazov" invites reflection on the importance of spiritual inquiry and the search for meaning amidst the trials of life, making the conflict between faith and doubt central to its moral and philosophical discourse.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 1’

Additional Information

• Redemption through suffering (Option 2) is a significant theme in Dostoevsky's work but is more of a narrative mechanism than the central philosophical dilemma.
• The nature of free will (Option 3) is explored but serves more as a subset of the broader conflict between faith and doubt.
• The impact of industrialization (Option 4) is not a prominent theme within "The Brothers Karamazov," which is more focused on deeply personal and existential questions.

The correct answer is 'Virginia Woolf'.

Key Points

• Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English novelist. She is regarded as one of the most prominent modernist authors of the twentieth century, as well as a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a literary device.
• She was born into an artistic and literary household. Her father was the well-known Victorian writer Sir Leslie Stephen, and her mother, Julia, was a Pre-Raphaelite model.
• Her most well-known works are- The Voyage Out (1915), Night and Day (1919), Jacob's Room(1922), Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando: A Biography (1928), The Waves (1931), The Years (1937), Between the Acts (1941).

Therefore, the correct option is 'Option3'.

Additional Information

• Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English author and social commentator who created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters. He is often recognized as the finest Victorian novelist. Dickens' novels and novellas were first serialized in weekly and monthly publications before being reproduced in traditional book formats.
• William Makepeace Thackeray was a novelist and illustrator from England. He is well known for his satirical works, particularly his 1847-1848 novel Vanity Fair, a panoramic depiction of British society.
• Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, was a Victorian-era English author, poet, journalist, and translator. Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Mariner (1861), Romola (1862-1863), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871-1872), and Daniel Deronda (1876) were her seven novels. She, like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, grew up in provincial England, and the most of her works are set there. Her work is notable for its realism, psychological depth, sense of place, and thorough description of the countryside.

The correct answer is Matthew Arnold.

Key Points

• Matthew Arnold was a prominent Victorian critic and poet known for his work on cultural and literary criticism.
• In his book "Culture and Anarchy," Arnold explores the role of culture in society and advocates for the pursuit of intellectual and moral excellence.
• He criticizes the prevailing materialistic and utilitarian values of Victorian society and emphasizes the importance of cultivating the "best self" through exposure to great works of literature and art.
• Arnold believed that culture could serve as a unifying force and help resolve the social and political conflicts of the time.
• His ideas had a significant influence on Victorian intellectual thought and continue to be studied and debated in literary and cultural studies.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2. 

In the three decades that Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk has devoted himself to writing fiction, he has also produced scores of witty, moving, and provocative essays and articles. He engages the work of Nabokov, Kundera, Rushdie, and Vargas Llosa, among others, and he discusses his own books and writing process. We also learn how he lives, as he recounts his successful struggle to quit smoking, describes his relationship with his daughter, and reflects on the controversy he has attracted in recent years. Here is a thoughtful compilation of a brilliant novelist's best nonfiction, offering different perspectives on his lifelong obsessions with loneliness, contentment, and the books and cities that have shaped his experience.

A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729.