AP Multiple Choice Questions (Answer Key)

QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER KEY

1. You can make an inference that Winston Smith’s application of formal language, contrasting with the limited vocabulary of Newspeak, depicts

a) Winston's intellectual nature, which enables him to rebel against the party

b) The Party's limited influence on mainstream society

c) Orwell's stellar abilities as a writer to contrast two drastically different languages

d) A and C

e) None of the above

THE ANSWER IS D) BECAUSE WINSTON'S ABILITY TO UNDERMINE THE PARTY IS SHOWN THROUGH HIS FORMALITY IN SPEAKING, THUS GOING AGAINST THE PARTY'S TRADITIONAL AND PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE; ALSO, WINSTON'S PERSPECTIVE AND NEWSPEAK ARE TWO ENTIRELY DISTINCT LANGUAGES, ILLUSTRATING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO PERSPECTIVES.

2. By investigating the impact of a repressive totalitarian system on society, George Orwell is able to convey which of the following?

a) The Dangers of totalitarianism

b) Submission of individuals, due to psychological manipulation

c) Physical control of subjects through constant surveillance

d) Technology, which also increases censorship

e) All of the above








 

THE ANSWER IS E) BECAUSE GEORGE ORWELL DOES CONVEY ALL OF THESE THINGS BY EXPLORING THE IMPLICATIONS OF A TOTALITARIAN REGIME; ORWELL ATTEMPTED TO PRIMARILY WARN THE WESTERN WORLD OF COMMUNISM, HE SHOWED THE UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF JULIA AND WINSTON AND HE DEMONSTRATED HOW THEY WERE COERCED TO BELIEVE THE PARTY'S IDEOLOGIES THROUGH CONSISTENT SURVEILLANCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL CENSHORSHIP.

3. “It was all nonsense, as they both knew. In reality, there was no escape. Even the one plan that was practicable, suicide, they had no intention of carrying out” (Orwell 175). Which of the following tones best communicates the message of the above quote from 1984?

a) Pessimistic

b) Incredulity

c) Bitter

d) Caustic

e) Melancholy

 THE ANSWER IS B) BECAUSE THE QUESTION IS LOOKING FOR THE BEST ANSWER; WINSTON IS UNABLE TO BELIEVE THAT ANY ACTION THAT HE AND JULIA COMMITTED COULD OVERTHROW THE PARTY; THEY SAW THEIR OWN INEVITABLE DEMISE LINGERING BEFORE THEM, BUT STILL PERFORMED ACTS DEEMED ILLEGAL BY THE PARTY.
 

4. “There were times when the fact of impending death seemed as palpable as the bed they lay on, and they would cling together with a sort of despairing sensuality, like a damned soul grasping at his last morsel of pleasure when the clock is within five minutes of striking” (Orwell 174). Which of the following literary devices is demonstrated by the above quotation?

a) Zeugma

b) Anaphora

c) Simile

d)  Metaphor

e) Polyptoton
 

THE ANSWER IS C) BECAUSE THE ABOVE QUOTATIOIN IS COMPARING IMPENDING DEATH TO THE BED WHERE JULIA AND WINSTON WERE WITH "AS".

5. By acknowledging the futility of his own actions, Winston progressively realizes that the Party will retain control of society infinitely. Winston has finally reached a point of self-actualization, where he comprehends his own ____________________.

a) Mortality

b) Existence

c) Ability to alter the future

d) Beliefs of the Party and Big Brother

e) Relationship with Julia

THE ANSWER IS A) BECAUSE ONCE WINSTON LOSES FAITH IN HIMSELF AND IS REHABILITATED INTO MAINSTREAM SOCIETY, HE UNDERSTANDS THAT THE END OF HIS LIFE IS NEAR.

6. Asserting that “We are the hollow men” and that “we are the stuffed men,” T.S. Eliot attempts to portray which of the following (Eliot 1-2)?

i) The overall meaningless of life, as well as the bleak nature of Earth

ii) The lack of morality of individuals who are left behind on Earth

iii) The Hell that exists on Earth

a) i only

b) ii only

c) iii only

d) i and ii only

e) i, ii and iii

THE ANSWER IS D) BECAUSE T.S. ELIOT ATTEMPTED TO SHOW THE UTTER HOPELESSNESS OF LIFE ON EARTH BECAUSE OF OUR PREDETERMINED FATE, AS WELL AS DEPICT THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT OF THE EARTH.

7. Referencing “a fading star,” T.S. Eliot attempts to illustrate a(n) _____________________ tone (Eliot 29).

a) Apathetic

b) Pessimistic

c) Gloomy

d) Obsequious

e) Reflective

THE ANSWER IS C) BECAUSE A FADING STAR SUGGESTS THAT HOPELESSNESS FILLS THE SOULS OF ALL INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH YEARNING FOR A PURPOSE IN LIFE.

8. T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” begins with the lines “Mistah Kurtz—he dead. A penny for the old guy” (Eliot 1-2). Which of the following literary or rhetorical device is illustrated by the quotation above?

a) Allusion

b) Litotes

c) Synecdoche

d) Anadiplosis

e) Metonymy

THE ANSWER IS A) BECAUSE THE FIRST TWO LINES OF THE POEM ARE REFERENCES TO OTHER SIGNIFICANT LITERARY WORKS, WHICH IS AN ALLUSION.

9. Which of the following words best exhibits the overall theme of T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men?”

a) Futility

b) Alienation

c) Loss

d) Escape

e) Fortune

THE ANSWER IS A) BECAUSE THE OVERALL GLOOMY TONE CONTRIBUTES TO A FEELING OF UTTER DESPAIR AND ATTITUDES OF CARELESSNESS.

10. Which of the following phrases does T.S. Eliot use to BEST illustrate the notion of a worthless existence for individuals on Earth?

a) “Under the twinkle of a fading star” (Eliot 44)

b) “Eyes I dare not meet in dreams/In death’s dream kingdom” (Eliot 18-19)

c) “Shape without form, shade without colour/Paralysed force, gesture without motion” (Eliot 10-11)

d) “Sunlight on a broken column” (Eliot 22)

e) “At the hour when we are/Trembling with tenderness/Lips that that would kiss” (Eliot 48-50)

THE ANSWER IS C) BECAUSE THE QUESTION IS LOOKING FOR THE BEST ANSWER; SHAPE WITHOUT FORM AND SHADE WITHOUT COLOR ARE ULTIMATELY THINGS THAT ARE NON-EXISTENT, THUS CONVEYING THE OVERALL WORTHLESSNESS OF LIFE.