1.

In evaluating Barry Holstun Lopez’s “Winter Count 1973: Geese, They Flew Over in a Storm,” you
relate the main character’s love of stories to your grandfather’s love of stories, recognizing how
the sharing of stories does make life more enjoyable. As a reader, you also pinpoint some gaps
in the story, speculating on some of the stories behind the winter counts. What kind of critical
approach are you using?

Psychological Criticism

New Historicism

New Criticism

Reader-Response Criticism

Feminist Literary Criticism

2. In analyzing Art Spiegelman’s “Prisoner on the Hell Planet,” you take a more traditional
approach and discuss the setting, conflict, characters, tone, theme, and other elements in the
story. You assert that “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” is not a legitimate form of literature because
it fails to meet our expectation of what a short story should be. What kind of critical approach
are you using?

Mythological Criticism

Marxist Literary Criticism

Structuralism

Formalist Criticism

Post-colonialism

3. In interpreting William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” you examine Emily’s relationship with her
father, noting that Emily seems to have Oedipus complex. You argue that her id seems to have
gotten better of her superego, resulting in murder of Homer. What kind of critical approach are
you using?

Psychological Criticism

Feminist Literary Criticism

Marxist Literary Criticism

Formalist Criticism

Archetypal Criticism
 4. In explaining Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” you focus on how the narrator treats
his employees, noting that many of the conditions of their employment are inhumane. You
assert that it is no surprise that Bartleby rebels, given these oppressive conditions, and that the
author was being critical of these types of working conditions. What kind of critical approach are
you using?

Deconstructionism

New Historicism

Marxist Literary Criticism

Structuralism

Biographical Criticism

5. In criticizing Pam Houston’s “How to Talk to a Hunter,” you discuss the stereotypical views of
women, men, and relationships expressed by the characters, focusing on the advice of both the
female and male friends in particular. You assert that the author is highly critical of these
stereotypes. What kind of critical approach are you using?

Mythological Criticism

Deconstructionism

Feminist Literary Criticism

Formalist Criticism

Post-colonialism

6. In analyzing several of Faulkner’s works, you focus on the author’s Southern background and
how his own feelings regarding his family having possession of slaves greatly influenced his
portrayal of slavery and Southern attitudes toward slavery in many of his stories and novels,
including “A Rose for Emily.” What kind of critical approach are you using?

Post-structuralism

Psychological Criticism

Biographical Criticism

Formalist Criticism

Mythological Criticism

7. In discussing T.B. Wood’s “A Loaf of Bread,” you focus on symbols, characters, and theme and
how these various elements help to create unity in the work. You don’t discuss the author, the
 reader, or any considerations outside the text itself. What kind of critical approach are you
using?

Psychological Criticism

Historical Criticism

Sociological Criticism

New Criticism

Structuralism

8. In examining John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” you concentrate on the physical description of the
Garden of Eden, on the symbols of hands, seed and flower, and on the characters of Adam, Eve,
Satan and God. You also pay special attention to the epic similes and metaphors and the point of
view from which the tale is being told. In addition, you look for meaning in the text itself, and
you do not refer to any biography of Milton. What kind of critical approach are you using?

Psychological Criticism

Mythological Criticism

Biographical Criticism

Sociological Criticism

New Criticism

9. In interpreting Rudolfo Anaya’s “The Silence of the Llano,” you would look into the motivations
of Rafael and examine the effects of isolation and loneliness on his character and provide some
reasoning for why he might choose to establish an incestuous relationship with his daughter.
You also recognize Rafael’s statement to his daughter “I will turn the earth for you. The seeds
will grow” is the establishment of a sexual relationship that will result in children. We can see
the water in which she bathes as symbolic of that birth that is to come. What kind of critical
approach are you using?

Psychological Criticism

Mythological Criticism

Biographical Criticism

Sociological Criticism

New Criticism
 10. In reading the parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament, different readers are likely to
have different responses. Someone who has lived a fairly straight and narrow life and who does
not feel like he has been rewarded for it is likely to associate with the older brother of the
parable and sympathize with his opposition to the celebration over the prodigal son’s return.
Someone with a more checkered past would probably approach the parable with more
sympathy for the younger brother. A parent who had had difficulties with a rebellious child
would probably focus on the father, and, depending on his or her experience, might see the
father’s unconditional acceptance of the prodigal as either good and merciful or as unwise and
overindulgent. While the parable might disturb some, it could elicit a feeling of relief from
others, which presumably, is what Christ intended it to do, and a more skillful critic might be
able to analyze the strategies Christ employed to elicit those responses. What kind of critical
approach is used?

Psychological Criticism

New Historicism

New Criticism

Reader-Response Criticism

Feminist Literary Criticism