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Unit 5: Contemporary (1945-Present)

Study guide for CLEP CLEP American Literature — Unit 5: Contemporary (1945-Present). Practice questions, key concepts, and exam tips.

13

Practice Questions

11

Flashcards

4

Key Topics

Key Concepts to Study

Beat Generation (Kerouac, Ginsberg)
postmodern fiction (Pynchon, Morrison)
confessional poetry (Plath, Sexton)
multicultural voices and identity literature

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 5 questions from this unit. Sign up for full access to all 13.

Q1MEDIUM

Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, and Elizabeth Bishop are poets associated with what literary period?

A) the Colonial period
B) the Romantic period
C) Realism/Naturalism
D) Modernism
E) Contemporary (post-1945)
Show Answer

Answer: E — "Contemporary (post-1945)" is correct because they are post-1945 poets, not Colonial or Romantic.

Q2MEDIUM

Which author wrote the novel Underworld?

A) Don DeLillo
B) Thomas Pynchon
C) John Updike
D) Philip Roth
E) Robert Stone
Show Answer

Answer: A — Don DeLillo is correct because DeLillo wrote Underworld, not Pynchon's Vineland.

Q3EASY

Who wrote the novel Rabbit, Run?

A) John Updike
B) Philip Roth
C) Saul Bellow
D) Joyce Carol Oates
E) Norman Mailer
Show Answer

Answer: A — John Updike is correct because Updike wrote Rabbit, Run, not Roth's Portnoy's Complaint.

Q4EASY

Which play is a classic portrayal of the American Dream's dark underbelly through the character of Willy Loman?

A) A Streetcar Named Desire
B) Death of a Salesman
C) The Crucible
D) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
E) Long Day's Journey into Night
Show Answer

Answer: B — Death of a Salesman is correct because Death of a Salesman critiques the American Dream.

Q5EASY

What literary device is 'jumbo shrimp' an example of?

A) Metaphor
B) Alliteration
C) Oxymoron
D) Personification
E) Hyperbole
Show Answer

Answer: C — Oxymoron is correct because 'jumbo shrimp' combines opposites.

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Study Tips for Unit 5: Contemporary (1945-Present)

  • Focus on understanding concepts, not memorizing facts — CLEP tests application
  • Practice with timed questions to build exam-day speed
  • Review explanations for wrong answers — they reveal common misconceptions
  • Use flashcards for key terms, practice questions for deeper understanding

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