UGC NET Paper 2 English Mock Test - 2 - UGC NET MCQ

The correct answer is option 4 i.e Amitav Ghosh - The White Tiger.

Key Points

• ​Looking at the above options we find that:
  • All the books and authors are matched correctly except for the last one.
  • The book "The White Tiger" is written by Aravind Adiga and not by Amitav Ghosh.
  • The other options are all correctly matched, thus only option 4 is wrongly matched. 
• Hence the correct answer is Option 4 i.e Amitav Ghosh - The White Tigers as it is the wrongly matched pair. 

The correct answer is J.M. Synge.

Key Points

• Riders to the Sea is a play/drama written by Irish Literary Renaissance playwright John Millington Synge(J.M. Synge).
• It is a brief, one-act play, and its action is starkly straightforward. Synge's play is short and mysterious, like a fairy tale. It engages the reader with questions of how forces as big as historical change and as intimate as grief affect individuals and families.
• This short play is about the calamities inflicted by the sea on a family of fishermen on an island to the west of Ireland. The scene is laid in the kitchen of a small cottage.

Additional Information

• Let's see the other options given:
  • G.B. Shaw​- Drama: 'Arms & The Man'
  • Francis Bacon​- Literary essay: 'Of Studies'
  • Thomas Hardy​- Novel: 'Mayor of Caster Bridge'

The correct answer is The Night of the Iguana': Jim O'ConnorKey Points

• The Night of the Iguana is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams.
• It is based on his 1948 short story.
• In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years, he developed it into a full-length play, producing two different versions in 1959 and 1960.
• Thomas Lanier Williams III, known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter.
• Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama

Therefore, Option 4 is the correct answer.

Additional Information

• The Glass Menagerie is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame.
• The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mother, and his mentally fragile sister.
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams.
• One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favourite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. 
• A Streetcar Named Desire is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947.
• The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of personal losses, leaves her once-prosperous situation to move into a shabby apartment in New Orleans rented by her younger sister and brother-in-law.

The correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Key Points

• Bloom's concept of the "Western canon" refers to a dynamic and evolving list of works that are considered to be significant.
• Bloom argues that the canon is not fixed and unchanging, but rather that it is constantly being revised and updated.
• The canon is based on the principle of aesthetic value, and it includes works from all periods of Western literature.
• Bloom's canon is controversial, and it has been criticized for being too narrow and for excluding works by women and minority writers.
• Despite the criticism, Bloom's canon remains an important and influential concept in literary theory and criticism.

Additional Information

• Option 1 is incorrect because Bloom believes that the canon is not fixed and unchanging.
• Option 3 is incorrect because Bloom's canon is not simply a list of works that are written in the Western tradition.
• Option 4 is incorrect because Bloom's canon is not simply a list of works that are written by Western authors.

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.

The correct answer is 'The ability to display an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions while hiding the conscious effort that went into them'.

Key Points

• 'Sprezzatura' is an Italian term first coined by Renaissance author Baldassare Castiglione in 'The Book of the Courtier'. It describes a courtier's manner of displaying an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions without apparent effort.
• This concept was an essential aspect of the Renaissance courtier's ideal character and has been influential in discussions about charisma, style, and leadership ever since.
• In literature, 'sprezzatura' can refer to the writing style of an author who makes the composition seem effortless, or to the characterization of individuals who manage complex situations with grace and ease.
• This term illustrates the Renaissance belief in the ideal balance between effort and ease, and the importance of outward appearance and grace.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

The correct answer is "The concept was proposed in the work S/Z.".

Key Points

• French philosopher Jacques Derrida coined the phrase "arche-writing" to reframe the connection between speech and writing.
• Derrida believed that speech has always been given precedence over writing since Plato's time.
• Phonetic writing was viewed in the West as an inferior imitation of the immediate living act of speech and a secondary imitation of speech.
• According to Derrida, writing was given a secondary or parasitic function in later centuries by both linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
• Derrida attempted to challenge this prioritizing in his article "Plato's Pharmacy" by initially confusing the terms "speaking" and "writing."

Therefore, the correct answer is option 4.

Additional Information

• Honoré de Balzac's short story "Sarrasine" was the subject of Roland Barthes' structural analysis in S/Z, which was published in 1970.
• Barthes works carefully through the narrative, indicating the locations and ways in which various meaning-coding systems operate.
• At the nexus of structuralism and post-structuralism, Barthes' study had a significant influence on literary criticism.

“Swami and Friends” (1935) is the first of a trilogy of novels written by R. K. Narayan (1906–2001), English language novelist from India. The novel is set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The game of cricket plays an important role in the life of the protagonist Swami an emotional release from the pressures of adjusting to his changing circumstances.

• Nuruddin Farah is a well –known novelist and playwright of Somalia. He pursued a degree in Philosophy, literature and Sociology at Punjab University in Chandigarh, India from the year 1966 to 1970.
• Ben Okri is a post colonial novelist of Nigeria and his novel The Famished Road won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1991.
• Helon Habila is a poet and novelist of Nigeria His first novel, Waiting for an Angel, won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in the year 2002.
• Benjamin Kwakye is a novelist from Ghana who won the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize for his first novel named The Clothes of Nakedness.

The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception is a 1963 book by the French philosopher Michel Foucault. First published in French in 1963, the work was published in English translation by Alan Sheridan Smith in the United States in 1973,followed in the UK in 1976 by Tavistock Publications as part of the series World of Man edited by R. D. Laing. In continuous publication since 1963, the book has become a locus classicus of the history of medicine, with admirers and critics in equal measure.

Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French, was a dialect of French that was used in .... Until the end of the 13th century, Latin was the language of all official written documents. ... almost three centuries after the king ceased speaking primarily French. ..... Chaucer, Language and Nation in the Hundred Years' War.

In an essay titled "Resonance and Wonder", Stephen Greenblatt draws a useful contrast between two principles for organizing museum exhibits. "Wonder", for Greenblatt, is the reaction evoked by a carefully managed display of unique works-it positions museumgoers as exalted viewers. By "resonance", Greenblatt indicates the power of a displayed object, often a "wounded artifact." To evoke a world beyond the boundaries of the exhibit and the museum, and to position museumgoers as engaged readers.

The correct answer is 'The Glass Menagerie — A Streetcar Named Desire — Cat on a Hot Tin Roof — The Night of the Iguana'.

Key Points

• The Glass Menagerie was Williams' first major success, premiering in 1944; it's a memory play that introduced themes of longing and desperation.
• A Streetcar Named Desire followed in 1947, becoming one of Williams' most acclaimed works, focused on the decline of Blanche DuBois.
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, premiered in 1955, delves into themes of mendacity, social mores, and personal decay within a Southern family.
• The Night of the Iguana, first produced in 1961, is set in Mexico and deals with themes of isolation, redemption, and human frailty.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Options 2, 3, and 4 disarrange the chronological order of the first productions of these notable plays by Tennessee Williams.

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

Key Points

• "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie is a seminal work that won the Booker Prize and is known for its magical realism and deep dive into Indian history post-independence.
• "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize for its intricate narrative structure and poignant exploration of societal norms in Kerala, India.
• "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga, another Booker Prize winner, offers a darkly comedic perspective on the class struggle and economic disparities in modern India.
• "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri explores themes of identity, immigration, and cultural conflict, following the life of an Indian American family.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Options 2, 3, and 4 incorrectly match authors to works not written by them.

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

Key Points

• "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot is a monumental modernist poem that explores themes of disillusionment and despair in the post-World War I era.
• "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, a celebrated American poet, vividly presents themes of nature, boundaries, and human relationships through the act of two neighbors rebuilding a stone wall.
• "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats is a Romantic poem that delves into themes of mortality, transcendence, and the desire for escape through the symbolic beauty of the nightingale.
• "Leda and the Swan" by W.B. Yeats is one of his most famous mythological poem where Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces or rapes Leda, leading to the birth of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.
• Each poem is an exemplary work of its author, showcasing their unique voice, thematic concerns, and the broader literary movements they were part of.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

The correct answer is 'Use of vivid and powerful imagery'.

Key Points

• Sylvia Plath is renowned for her ability to craft vivid and powerful imagery in her poetry, using language that evokes intense emotional responses and paints striking visual pictures.
• Her work often delves into themes of self-identity, mental illness, the female experience, and death, with her imagery serving to bring these abstract concepts to life in a way that is both personal and universal.
• Poems like "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" are prime examples where Plath uses disturbing yet compelling imagery to explore her complex relationship with her father and her own struggles with mental health.
• Plath's use of imagery is not just descriptive but symbolic, often imbuing her poems with layers of meaning that invite deep analysis and interpretation.
• Her skillful use of metaphors and similes creates powerful connections between the everyday and the extraordinary, making her poetry resonant and impactful.

Therefore, the correct answer is ‘Option 2.’

Additional Information

• Unrestrained optimism about the future and emphasis on traditional poetic forms do not generally characterize Plath's work; her poetry is more known for its exploration of darker themes and innovation in style.
• While historical events can feature in her work, they are not the primary focus; her focus is more introspective and personal

The correct answer is 'Beowulf.'

Key Points

• Cultural and Historical Insights: Beowulf, composed in Old English, offers invaluable insights into the Anglo-Saxon culture, societal norms, and values of its time.
• Linguistic Significance: As one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language, Beowulf provides linguists and historians with critical data on the vocabulary, syntax, and grammar of Old English.
• Oral Tradition: Beowulf also gives scholars insights into the oral tradition of storytelling that was prevalent in Anglo-Saxon societies, illustrating how stories were used for education and entertainment, and how they evolved when committed to writing.
• Christian and Pagan Elements: The poem reflects a mix of Christian and pagan elements, indicating the transitional period of religious beliefs in Anglo-Saxon England.
• Heroic Ideals: Beowulf highlights the heroic ideals of its time, such as bravery, loyalty, and the significance of personal honor, providing a window into the moral and ethical fabric of early English society.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Option 2: The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a Middle English literary work, providing insights into the English language and society during the late Middle Ages rather than the Old English period.
• Option 3: Paradise Lost, written by John Milton, belongs to the Early Modern English period and represents a different era in English literature and language.
• Option 4: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English chivalric romance, reflecting the language and culture of the Medieval England, not the Old English period.

The correct answer is 'The clash between conservative Edwardian values and the emerging modern attitudes of freedom and self-expression.'

Key Points

• "A Room with a View," published in 1908, follows the story of Lucy Honeychurch, a young English woman whose experiences in Italy and England lead her to question the repressive cultural norms of her conservative Edwardian society.
• The novel contrasts the stifling social conventions and expectations Lucy faces in her life in England with the transformative freedom and romantic passion she encounters during her stay in Italy.
• Lucy's internal conflict and eventual rebellion against her society's expectations of propriety, marriage, and class consciousness are central to the narrative, encapsulating the broader thematic exploration of individual desire versus social conformity.
• The characters of George Emerson and Cecil Vyse represent, respectively, the novel's ideological conflict between authenticity, emotional honesty, and the constraints of Edwardian etiquette and snobbery.
• Forster uses the metaphor of rooms and views as symbols of limitation and opportunity, respectively, to underscore Lucy's journey towards self-realization and the choice between a life prescribed by societal norms and one of personal freedom.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 1'.

Additional Information

• Option 2, while touching on relevant social concerns, does not encapsulate the novel's primary focus on personal liberation from societal constraints.
• Option 3 and 4 are not central themes of the novel; the impact of tourism and architectural evolution are outside the scope of the main narrative

The correct answer is 'To imitate nature and teach by delightful means.'

Key Points

• Sir Philip Sidney defends poetry against its critics by emphasizing its educational purpose, stating that poetry combines the pleasure of reading with the utility of moral guidance.
• Sidney argues that poetry's unique virtue lies in its ability to mirror nature, not just through blind imitation but by idealizing life and offering examples of virtues and vices.
• He supports the idea that poetry engages the reader's emotions and imagination, making the learning process more effective than mere factual or moral instruction.
• Sidney's emphasis on "delightful teaching" reflects the Renaissance belief in the harmony between enjoyment and instruction, suggesting that poetry can morally guide the audience by making learning appealing.
• He points out that poetry is universal in its appeal, capable of reaching diverse audiences by presenting moral lessons in an engaging and memorable way.
• Sidney asserts that the ancient poets aimed not only to please but also to instruct, thereby positioning poetry as a noble art that elevates human understanding and virtuous action.

Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Additional Information

• Option 1: Incorrect because it limits poetry's purpose to mere entertainment, which Sidney expands upon as moral and educational.
• Option 3: Incorrect as Sidney's focus is on the moral and educational benefits of poetry, rather than personal fame.
• Option 4: Incorrect because documentation of historical events is not identified as the primary purpose of poetry by Sidney; he argues for a more philosophical and moral purpose

The correct answer is 'The depthlessness of contemporary culture'.

Key Points

• Frederick Jameson views postmodern culture as characterized by a lack of depth, meaning there's a shift away from the grand narratives and ideologies that used to provide depth to culture.
• He argues that in postmodernism, there is a preoccupation with surface images and styles, leading to a sense of shallowness or depthlessness in cultural production.
• Jameson associates this depthlessness with the concept of pastiche, which he defines as imitation without parody's mockery, reflecting a loss of historical depth and a culture's capacity for critical distance.
• This depthlessness is part of Jameson's broader critique of postmodernism, where he sees it as symptomatic of late capitalism, emphasizing form over content and appearance over substance.
• Jameson’s analysis suggests that this characteristic contributes to the fragmentation of individual and collective identities, as people lose connection with their historical and sociopolitical contexts.
• He implies that this has significant implications for how individuals perceive reality and engage with society, potentially leading to alienation and a diminished capacity for critical thought.

The correct answer is 'It ignores the material conditions of the author's life'.

Key Points

• Marxist Literary Theory is based on the ideologies of Karl Marx, which emphasizes economic factors as fundamental to understanding society and culture.
• It does not ignore the material conditions of the author's life; rather, it looks at the author's social class and the socioeconomic conditions of their time as significant influences on their work.
• The other options all align with the principles of Marxist Literary Theory: emphasis on class struggle, viewing literature as a product of economic and ideological circumstances , and exploring themes of power, exploitation, and inequality.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

In Jane Austen's novels, the ultimate fate of the heroines is typically d) They get married. Most of Austen's protagonists experience romantic entanglements and ultimately find suitable partners, leading to marriages that often signify social and personal fulfillment. While the details and circumstances vary from novel to novel, the common theme of marriage as a desirable outcome is a significant aspect of her storytelling.

Raphael Hythloday: A well-travelled friend of Gilesí, who does not believe in the present system of government, but rather in that of Utopia, which he thinks is the only true commonwealth. He lived in Utopia for five years, and describes every aspect of it to Giles and More. The book is based on this description.

(S) is a view and (I) is correct.

• Bee and Spider occur in Swift's The Battle of the Books.
• Snowball and Napoleon occur in Orwell's novel Animal Farm.
• The Devils Staff is mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story Young Goodman Brown.
• Christian and Evangelist figure in John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress.

Frederick Jackson Turner produced a classic interpretation of American history titled 'The significance of the Frontier in American History'. Turner emphasized that the frontier had been the one great determinant in the shaping of American civilization. This idea is in direct conflict with previous writers who stressed the development of America with linkage to and continuity with European institutions.
For example, democracy could be traced back to the Magna Charta, etc. Turner identified American democracy with the American frontier. The frontier fostered an egalitarian spirit. Western states expanded the suffrage; Western states were the first to allow women to vote. Jeffersonian and Jacksonian de- mocracy occurred in the South and the West. The frontier is another name for free land and opportunity. The frontier fostered rejuvenation and rebirth, self-reliance and individu- alism. It is identified with exuberance and buoyancy.

• Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave is a widely read and praised work of fiction, written in prose by Aphra Behn and published in 1688. The novel revolves around the life of Oroonkoo, an African prince who was abducted by British traders and fetched to Surinam. The narrator of the novel is an English woman, and possibly the mouthpiece of the author, Aphra Behn.
• The story has a mixture of first and third person narrative. The narrator claims to have met the prince during his captivity and narrate the whole story as an eyewitness of the events described. Trefry is one of the main characters, manager of Parham Plantation, who tried to free the prince.
• Note: Aphra Behn is one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing. She is notably remembered by Virginia Woolf in her essay “A Room of One’s Own”

The Legend of Good Women is one of the longest creations, in the form of a dream vision by Geoffrey Chaucer. The work remained incomplete as the poet recounts ten stories of virtuous women in nine sections but only nine legends could have completed originally.

The legends are: Cleopatra, Thisbe, Dido, Hypsipyle, Medea, Lucrece, Ariadne, Philomela, Phyllis and Hypermnestra. Many of these love stories end with the suicide of the female resulting either from a broken heart at losing their true love or a broken heart at being seduced and abandoned.

Christopher Fry was a famous poet and dramatist of the Modern Age, majorly in the 1940s and 50s. He is best noticed for his poetic plays, especially, The Lady’s Not for Burning, a verse drama constituted in three act presents two distinct characters with their diverse ideology toward life. First one is a war soldier who wants to die as tired of desperation and destruction following the war and the second is a witch, who wants to live. The play debuted in 1948.

Venus Observed is another famous play of Fry and staged in 1950. The play is written in Blank verse. The play was a huge success and bestowed Fry the fame, he enjoyed throughout his life. It was also adapted to British and Australian TV series.

French Without Tears is a comic play created by one of the best British dramatist of the 20th century. The play focus on those adults, who want to acquire the French language for business and materialistic success. The play was first staged in 1936 and enjoyed a huge success. In year 1940, a film based on the story of the play and with the same name released.

The Deep blue sea is another play by Rattigan and based on the secret relationship of dramatist with the young actor, Kenny Morgan and his suicide. The play is considered to be one of the finest creations of Rattigan and staged first time in 1952

Michael Focoult is best known for discussing power, knowledge, discourse and sexuality in his works. In The History of Sexuality, he advocates power and knowledge as these not only limits what we can do, but also opens up new ways of acting and thinking about ourselves. For Foucault, power and knowledge are not seen as independent entities, but are inextricably related as knowledge is always an exercise of power and power always a function of knowledge.
Power operates through discourse which define the reality of the social world and the people, ideas, and things that inhabit it. ‘Power is everywhere’, diffused and embodied in discourse, knowledge and ‘regimes of truth’. Discourse is about the production of knowledge through language, and through practices. Resistance is an odd term in relations of power. He says in the introduction of The History of Sexuality that Where there is power, it is possible to find resistance. Sexuality is literally written on the body is a notion does not belong to Focoult.
He further says “homosexual, ” as a special type of human subject or identity, was a construction of the medical and legal discourse of the latter part of the nineteenth century.