World Literatures in English and the Diaspora Beyond the UK USA and India
Section Overview: Detailed explanations for questions from the UGC NET English Dec 2024 Exam regarding World Literatures in English and the Diaspora Beyond the UK USA and India.
Question 50
"Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need."
Who has composed the above lines?
"Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need."
Who has composed the above lines?
Correct Answer: 3. Emily Dickinson
These lines are from Emily Dickinson's poem titled "Success is counted sweetest"
(written in 1859, published posthumously in 1890).
● The poem explores the paradox that those who fail understand the value of
success more deeply than those who succeed.
● This theme reflects Dickinson's typical philosophical depth, brevity, and use of
paradox and imagery.
📝 Famous closing lines:
"Not one of all the purple Host / Who took the Flag today / Can tell the definition / So clear of
Victory."
🔸 Why Others Are Incorrect:
● Christina Rossetti - Known for devotional and romantic poetry (Goblin Market,
Remember).
● Thomas Hardy - Primarily a novelist and poet focused on fate, society, and rural
England.
● Matthew Arnold - Known for reflective poetry (Dover Beach), more philosophical
and cultural.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 51
Match the LIST-I with LIST-II
LIST-I (Author)
A. Henry Miller
B. John Steinback
C. James Jones
D. James Baldwin
LIST-II (Text)
I. The Grapes of Wrath
II. No Name in the Streets
III. Tropic of Cancer
IV. From Here to Eternity
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Match the LIST-I with LIST-II
LIST-I (Author)
A. Henry Miller
B. John Steinback
C. James Jones
D. James Baldwin
LIST-II (Text)
I. The Grapes of Wrath
II. No Name in the Streets
III. Tropic of Cancer
IV. From Here to Eternity
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: 2. A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II
This question focuses on identifying important 20th-century American authors and their
landmark works.
A. Henry Miller → Tropic of Cancer: A controversial and semi-autobiographical novel set in
Paris, known for its stream-of-consciousness style and candid content.
B. John Steinbeck → The Grapes of Wrath: A powerful social realist novel about Dust
Bowl migration and poverty in America during the Great Depression.
C. James Jones → From Here to Eternity: A war novel dealing with the lives of soldiers
stationed at Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attack.
D. James Baldwin → No Name in the Street: A deeply personal and political memoir,
reflecting on racism, civil rights, and Baldwin's experiences.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 52
Langston Hughes poem "I too Sing America" Is a response to which of the following
poets?
Langston Hughes poem "I too Sing America" Is a response to which of the following
poets?
Correct Answer: 2. Walt Whitman
Langston Hughes' iconic poem "I, Too, Sing America" (1926) is a direct and powerful
response to Walt Whitman's poem "I Hear America Singing."
● Whitman's poem celebrates American workers but excludes Black voices.
● Hughes' poem asserts that African Americans are also part of the American
identity, claiming a rightful place in the national narrative.
🗣️ Hughes writes:
"I, too, sing America."
"They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes..."
It is both an act of resistance and a vision of inclusion.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 53
Who is the best-known figure amongst the following for articulating the concept of
'Negritude'.
Who is the best-known figure amongst the following for articulating the concept of
'Negritude'.
Correct Answer: 2. Aime Cesaire
Negritude is a literary and ideological movement developed by Francophone Black
intellectuals, writers, and politicians in the 1930s as a response to colonial racism and
cultural alienation.
● Aime Cesaire, a Martinican poet and politician, is one of the founding figures of
this movement.
● His poem "Notebook of a Return to the Native Land" (1939) is a landmark work in
Negritude literature.
● The movement celebrated Black identity, African heritage, and resisted French
colonial domination.
🔸 Why the Others Are Incorrect:
● Edward Said - Known for Orientalism and postcolonial theory, but not linked to
Negritude.
● William Jones - Known for discovering the Indo-European language family, not
for Negritude.
● Anna Rutherford - A scholar of Commonwealth and postcolonial literature, but
not central to Negritude.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 54
Identity the statements which are correct.
A. The term 'Flâneur' is often associated with the poetry of Baudelaire.
B. The term "Habitus' is associated with Pierre Bourdieu.
C. Michael Foucault is associated with the concept of 'Modernity: An Unfinished
Project'.
D. Frantz Fanon is associated with the term 'Imagined Community'.
E. The term 'Thick Description' is associated with Clifford Mentz.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Identity the statements which are correct.
A. The term 'Flâneur' is often associated with the poetry of Baudelaire.
B. The term "Habitus' is associated with Pierre Bourdieu.
C. Michael Foucault is associated with the concept of 'Modernity: An Unfinished
Project'.
D. Frantz Fanon is associated with the term 'Imagined Community'.
E. The term 'Thick Description' is associated with Clifford Mentz.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: DROPPED
🔹 Correct Statements:
● A. "Flâneur" → Baudelaire ✅
The Flâneur is a detached urban observer, often associated with Charles
Baudelaire's depiction of modern Parisian life in his prose poetry.
● B. "Habitus" → Pierre Bourdieu ✅
In sociology, Bourdieu uses "habitus" to describe the internalized cultural norms
and behaviors shaped by social structures.
🔸 Incorrect Statements:
● C. "Modernity: An Unfinished Project" → Michel Foucault ❌
This concept is linked to Jürgen Habermas, not Foucault. Foucault critiqued
Enlightenment and power/knowledge structures.
● D. "Imagined Community" → Frantz Fanon ❌
The term is coined by Benedict Anderson, not Fanon. Fanon is known for
postcolonial theory and anti-colonial struggles.
● E. "Thick Description" → Clifford Mentz ❌
The correct attribution is Clifford Geertz, an anthropologist who introduced the term
in cultural interpretation.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 55
Choose the correct sequence of the following works of Pablo Neruda in chronological
order: -
A. Spain in the Heart
B. Works and Book of Turlights
C. The Inhabitant and His Hope
D. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
E. The Trying of Infinite Man
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
Choose the correct sequence of the following works of Pablo Neruda in chronological
order: -
A. Spain in the Heart
B. Works and Book of Turlights
C. The Inhabitant and His Hope
D. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
E. The Trying of Infinite Man
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
Correct Answer: 4. B, D, E, C, A
🔹 Chronological Order:
1. B. Works and Book of Turlights - 1923
📖 One of Neruda's earliest poetic works, reflecting youthful intensity and
experimental style.
2. D. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair - 1924
📖 His breakthrough collection, blending romanticism and modernist influence,
highly popular even today.
3. E. The Trying of Infinite Man - 1926
📖 A lesser-known early philosophical collection that explores existence and
human emotion.
4. C. The Inhabitant and His Hope - 1926
📖 A play written early in Neruda's career, reflecting themes of dreams, solitude,
and human longing.
5. A. Spain in the Heart - 1937
📖 Written in response to the Spanish Civil War, this work marks Neruda's shift
toward political poetry.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 56
Arrange the following works of literature chronologically based on their year of
publication:
A. The English Patient
B. The Swinging Bridge
C. Lives of Girls and Women
D. Family Matters
E. Birnam Wood
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Arrange the following works of literature chronologically based on their year of
publication:
A. The English Patient
B. The Swinging Bridge
C. Lives of Girls and Women
D. Family Matters
E. Birnam Wood
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: 4. C, A, D, B, E
🔹 Chronological Order:
1. C. Lives of Girls and Women - 1971
📚 By Alice Munro - A coming-of-age novel exploring the life of a girl growing up
in rural Canada.
2. A. The English Patient - 1992
📚 By Michael Ondaatje - A Booker Prize-winning novel set during World War II,
blending love, loss, and memory.
3. D. Family Matters - 2002
📚 By Rohinton Mistry - A novel about aging, caregiving, and family in modern
Bombay.
4. B. The Swinging Bridge - 2003
📚 By Ramabai Espinet - A powerful novel of diaspora, identity, and Indo-
Caribbean history.
5. E. Birnam Wood - 2023
📚 By Eleanor Catton - A contemporary eco-thriller dealing with environmental
activism and capitalism.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 57
Match the LIST-I with LIST-II
LIST-I (Novel)
A. The Childhood of Jesus
B. The Go-Between
C. Brideshead Revisited
D. The Catcher in the Rye
LIST-II (Novelist)
I. L. P. Hartley
II. Evelyn Waugh
III. J. M. Coetzee
IV. J. D. Salinger
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Match the LIST-I with LIST-II
LIST-I (Novel)
A. The Childhood of Jesus
B. The Go-Between
C. Brideshead Revisited
D. The Catcher in the Rye
LIST-II (Novelist)
I. L. P. Hartley
II. Evelyn Waugh
III. J. M. Coetzee
IV. J. D. Salinger
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: 2. A-III, B-I, C-II, D-IV
A. The Childhood of Jesus → J. M. Coetzee: A 2013 novel by the Nobel Laureate,
known for its allegorical and philosophical exploration of identity and society.
B. The Go-Between → L. P. Hartley: A classic coming-of-age novel first published in 1953.
It begins with the famous line: "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."
C. Brideshead Revisited → Evelyn Waugh: A 1945 novel subtitled "The Sacred and
Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder", examining faith, aristocracy, and memory.
D. The Catcher in the Rye → J. D. Salinger: A 1951 novel centered on Holden Caulfield,
exploring themes of adolescence, alienation, and rebellion.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 58
Identify all the Australian Aboriginal writers out of the following:
A. Kim Scott
B. Peter Carey
C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
D. Kevin Gilbert
E. Derek Walcott
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Identify all the Australian Aboriginal writers out of the following:
A. Kim Scott
B. Peter Carey
C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
D. Kevin Gilbert
E. Derek Walcott
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: 3. A, C and D only
Identify all the Australian Aboriginal writers out of the following:
Options:
A. Kim Scott
B. Peter Carey
C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal
D. Kevin Gilbert
E. Derek Walcott
✅ Correct Answer: 3. A, C and D only
📖 Explanation
This question tests your knowledge of Aboriginal Australian writers, who represent the
First Nations voices in Australian literature.
🔹 Correct Aboriginal Writers:
● A. Kim Scott ✅
A Noongar writer, Scott is a Booker-longlisted and Miles Franklin Award-
winning novelist. His works explore Aboriginal identity, history, and
reconciliation. Notable work: Benang.
● C. Oodgeroo Noonuccal ✅
Formerly known as Kath Walker, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to
publish a book of poetry. A major political and cultural voice. Notable work: We Are
Going.
● D. Kevin Gilbert ✅
A poet, playwright, and activist, he was a powerful advocate for Aboriginal
rights. Notable work: Because a White Man'll Never Do It.
🔸 Incorrect Options:
● B. Peter Carey ❌
A prominent white Australian novelist, known for Oscar and Lucinda and True
History of the Kelly Gang.
● E. Derek Walcott ❌
A Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Laureate in Literature (1992), not
Australian or Aboriginal.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 59
Which of the following is not an autobiography?
Which of the following is not an autobiography?
Correct Answer: 1. Patrick White : A Life
Autobiographies:
● 2. Long Walk to Freedom
✍️ Nelson Mandela's autobiography, chronicling his journey from rural South Africa
to becoming the first Black president.
● 3. My Experiments with Truth
✍️ Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual and political autobiography, detailing his search for
truth through nonviolence.
● 4. Akkarmashi (The Outcaste)
✍️ Written by Sharan Kumar Limbale, a powerful Dalit autobiography that
exposes caste-based oppression in India.
🔸 Incorrect (Not an Autobiography):
● 1. Patrick White: A Life
❌ This is a biography, not an autobiography.
✍️ Written by David Marr, it is a detailed biographical account of the Australian
Nobel laureate Patrick White, not authored by White himself.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.
Question 60
Which of the following novels deal with the theme of apartheid?
A. Purple Hibiscus
B. July's People
C. Cry, the Beloved Country
D. The Mimic Men
E. My Son's Story
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Which of the following novels deal with the theme of apartheid?
A. Purple Hibiscus
B. July's People
C. Cry, the Beloved Country
D. The Mimic Men
E. My Son's Story
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Correct Answer: 3. B, C and E only
Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in
South Africa between 1948 and the early 1990s. Several writers have explored its effects
through fiction.
🔹 Correct Matches:
● B. July's People - Nadine Gordimer
✅ Explores a fictional post-apartheid scenario where a white liberal family is
forced to depend on their Black servant, July, reversing the traditional power
dynamic.
● C. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
✅ A landmark novel that addresses the devastating racial injustices in pre-
apartheid South Africa.
● E. My Son's Story - Nadine Gordimer
✅ Centers on political resistance and the moral complexities faced by a mixed-
race family during apartheid.
🔸 Incorrect Matches:
● A. Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
❌ Set in Nigeria, it deals with family, religion, and post-colonial identity, not
apartheid.
● D. The Mimic Men - V. S. Naipaul
❌ Deals with postcolonial identity and exile, especially in Caribbean and
metropolitan contexts-not South African apartheid.
Detailed Explanation:
No detailed explanation provided.