Chapter 21

Quiz for Chapter Twenty-One Analyzing Voices: Urban Writers Describe Small-Town America

Feature Quiz

Chapter 21b

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Question 1

Which two American perspectives were the characters of Carol Kennicott and Bea Sorenson supposed to represent in this excerpt from Sinclair Lewis’s 1920 novel Main Street?A. Kennicott represented the eastern perspective and Sorenson the midwestern one.
B. Kennicott represented the urban perspective and Sorenson the rural one.
C. Kennicott represented the elite perspective and Sorenson the poor one.
D. Kennicott represented the native-born perspective and Sorenson the immigrant one.

Question 2

Like the fictional Carol Kennicott, Anzia Yezierska grew up in a large urban area and moved to a small town in Ohio during her young adulthood. What might account for the differences in their experiences of small-town life?A. Yezierska was a new college student and not an experienced adult like Kennicott.
B. Yezierska came from New York, whereas Kennicott likely came from a city like Chicago.
C. Yezierska, unlike Kennicott, was open-minded about new experiences.
D. Yezierska experienced city life as a poor child of immigrants, not as a privileged white woman like Kennicott.

Question 3

The excerpts from Lewis’s novel and Yezierska’s autobiography are examples of which 1920s phenomenon?A. The Harlem Renaissance
B. The culture wars
C. Intellectual modernism
D. Consumer culture

Question 4

Robert and Helen Lynd’s depiction of small-town life in the Midwest during the 1920s serves as evidence for which of the following?A. The effect of prohibition on American life
B. The influence of consumer culture on American families
C. The reasons for the Ku Klux Klan’s appeal to midwesterners
D. The influence of immigrants on native-born families in the Midwest