The first exam will consist of three parts: a short answer section worth 20 points, a quotation identification section worth 60 points, and a short essay response worth 20 points. Partial credit may be awarded as merited. Answering all the journalists' questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how) where applicable will ensure a thoughtful yet succinct response.

This guide is designed to help you perform at your best by encouraging you to make connections between the works and authors before exam day. You should review all of your notes in addition to focusing on the following study prompts. Not all of the material below will be represented on the exam. I encourage you to study with your fellow classmates and to exchange notes. Furthermore, I encourage you to actually read the selections. You still have plenty of time to properly prepare.

Finally, I would like to remind you that this exam represents 20% of your semester grade, so you should take it seriously. Scoring 50% on this test will, for example, reduce your final semester grade by 10 points, or one full letter grade.

(Remember, I don't offer extra credit—ever.)

Issues and Definitions That May (or May Not) Appear on the Exam (in no particular order):

• What work, published in 1859, had arguably the single, greatest worldwide effect on how people view themselves and their places in the cosmos? Why?
• Who is the father of Realism?
• Using three or more reading selections, demonstrate how women’s rights are presented in Realism.
• Know a definition Realism.
• Be able to list at least five distinguishing characteristics of Realism.
• Be prepared to explain how each work reflects Realism using specific examples, such as quotations, from the texts.
• Give an example of a frame narrative.
• Know approximate dates for the Realism movement.
• Discuss how Realism is a natural reaction to Romanticism.
• Know which stories prominently feature trickster figures.
• Describe characteristics of Southwestern humor, including audience, stereotypes, and language. (Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri are not what we think of as Southwest today.)
• Define all literary terms presented for poetry and prose.
• Discuss the impact of Dickinson’s and /or Whitman’s poetry.
• Be prepared to defend or criticize Harris based on your view of whether he is an historian or a thief.