War of Identity

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Multiple Choice Answers

The Ghost Road Multiple Choice

1. When the author refers to the “Dead horses, unburied men, stench of corruption,” (240) she incorporates this language mainly to:

A. Show how the horrors of war

B. Describe the environment

C. Draw a comparison to the soldiers

D. Allow the reader to imagine the text better

E. Make the reader feel sympathy for the soldiers

Explanation: The mood of the soldiers and their physical condition is similar to how the environment is described. Her use of rhetoric parallels others.

2. Why does the author choose to include a short anecdote of the women and her husband? (241)

A. Provide comical relief

B. Use the story as a tool to help better relate the struggle of the soldiers

C. Add to the realistic features of war

D. Foreshadow the rest of the text

E. Symbolically represent the environment

Explanation: The wife and husband show that the unexpected is possible in times of war. Even though the wife should have longed for husband after death, she finds herself not as remorseful as expected. Like war, as soldiers are trekking back, they find themselves not that excited to return.

3. The excerpt ends with the narrator stating “Anyway, here comes dinner. I’m hungry” (242). What does this show about the author’s style of writing?

A. Impulsive and random

B. Sidetracked and not-focused

C. Interjected and symbolic

D. Powerful and condescending

E. Reflective and reminiscent

Explanation: Throughout the passage, the morbid descriptions are contrasted with the simple and playful ending. It is interjected because of the randomness of the line and the symbolism behind it shows that some desires, like food, are unaffected by war.

4. The main symbolism that the author relies on throughout this passage is the:

A. The land

B. Crow

C. Smell

D. Boot

E. Children

Explanation: All other choices are mentioned only seldom, while the environment is referred to various times throughout the passage. In the beginning it is described as dead and rotting. At the end, it transitions to mysterious and fearful with the description of the tunnels.

5. After reading the last paragraph, (242) one can infer that the soldiers:

A. Would like to revert back to childhood days

B. Have no fear after the war

C. Would desperately like to return home

D. Have been psychologically damage

E. Have reached a state of happiness

Explanation: The soldiers being afraid of such fairy tale legends like the Pied Piper show that they are not the men they once were taken for. Also, earlier in the passage, the soldiers economizing on grief show that they find some sort of comfort in the shortcomings of war.

A Man May Change Multiple Choice

1. What does the author imply when he states

There in the mirror he appears to be on fire

But here at the office he is dust (5-7)

A. Men live short and spontaneous lives

B. The perception of men shows true change

C. Change is always drastic

D. Fire is the symbol of change

E. At the workplace, man becomes nothing

Explanation: The mirror provides the idea of perception and how someone is perceived. In this instance, the man appears one way in one context but differently in another. One can only change in another’s eyes if their perception is changed. Even if he is “fire” in his own eyes, he is still dust to others.

2. How does the rain mentioned contribute to the meaning of the poem?

. . . It rains

Or it doesn’t, or it rains and it rains again.

But let it go on raining for forty days and nights (11-13)

A. Rain cleanses people of their impurities

B. Rain represents the hardships one must goes through in order to change

C. Weather feebly represents change

D. Man requires weather to change

E. Rain does not stop

Explanation: The use of the word “but” show that there is something different about raining for forth days and night than raining on an average basis. One can infer by looking on the next line that “it isn’t life . . . anymore, it’s living.” Continual rain represents hardships without letting up as opposed to just once in a while troubles. Through this process, one can truly stated on the last line.

3. What does “it isn’t life, just life, anymore, it’s living” (15)

A. Everyone will experience an existential moment in their lives

B. Life does not start under men change

C. Change allows people to enjoy life

D. Change makes people realize their true calling whether bad or good

E. Men needs change in order to truly live

Explanation: Life takes on a whole new meaning once people go through struggles as symbolized by the sun baking and the heavy rain. Although, one cannot assume whether the connotation of change is good or bad, but it is assumed change does take place, so C is not the right answer.

4. What can one infer by the end of the passage?

A. Change can be so subtle that sometimes no one notices

B. Change always goes unnoticed

C. Men does not really change if no one notices

D. Not all men change

E. Everyone is subject to change

Explanation: The fourth to last line states, “[change] sometimes happens that a man has changed so slowly that he slips away.” It is quite literal in the sense that a man will sometimes change but not be noticed. This is because throughout the passage, the idea of change being based on perception comes to play. Someone might change, but no one may notice it.

5. What style does the author incorporate throughout this poem?

A. Dramatic monologue

B. Modifying the environment

C. Exaggerating to get the point across

D. Use of comparisons and symbols

E. Repetition of a main symbol

Explanation: The sun, rain and fire are the obvious symbols throughout the poetry, each representing some extreme form of change. More subtle symbols exist like water and moisture. The way a man changes is compared to these different natural events.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Life Class Overview

Pat Barker explores the effects of wars on 3 individuals. Paul, Elinor and Neville are all subject to WWI, but from different angles. Each must contend with retaining their past and forging a new future. Life Class questions the ability of society to press forward and the will of individuals to conform. Barker utilizes this perspective writing style throughout her novel, giving various points of view.

The Ghost Road Overview

Pat Barker's book The Ghost Road drops the reader right into the middle of the action of the trilogy of books known as the Regeneration Series. The existing conflict between loyalty and survival continue as the main characters Rivers and Prior find themselves with different perspectives regarding the war. As the novel progresses, questions are raised: do the ends justify the means? Throughout the novel, the exploration of identity and principles are challenged as the grounds on which they stand become corrupted. The contrasting viewpoints offered, combined with the realistic scenery creates a first-hand experience of one of the world's greatest tragedies.

Works Cited

Barker, Pat. Life Class. New York: Doubleday, 2008.

—. The Ghost Road. New York: Viking Press, 1995.

Bell, Marvin. "A Man May Change." 2000. Poetry Foundation. 14 January 2012 <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175942>.

Harris, Meghan. "Munition-ettes: Independence or Patriotism?" 2003. Critical Contexts. 23 January 2013 <http://www.k-state.edu/english/westmank/regeneration/munitionettes.harris.html>.

Johnson, James Weldon. "Before a Painting." 2 April 2010. PoemHunter. 14 January 2012 <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/before-a-painting/>.

Jordison, Sam. "Looking back at the Booker: Pat Barker." 6 June 2008. theguardian. 30 December 2012 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/jun/06/lookingbackatthebookerpat>.

Kirk, John. "Recovered Perspectives: Gender, Class, and Memory in Pat Barker's Writing." December 1999. JStor. 23 January 2013 <http://www.jstor.org/action/showShelf>.

Pierpont, Claudia Rother. "Shell Shock." 31 December 1995. The New York Times. 30 December 2012 <www.nytimes.com/books/99/05/16/specials/barker-ghost.html >.

The Australian. "A Terrible Obsession." 14 July 2007. EBSCO Host. 25 January 2013 <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&sid=b01b16cc-0590-463c-ad8c-504e25894bf8%40sessionmgr10&hid=123&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=nfh&AN=200707145008104025>.

Multiple Choice

Will Zhang