Deck 26: Cultural Trends

Question 1

Poet Robinson Jeffers described his own philosophy as

A)anachronism.
B)naturalism.
C)inhumanism.
D)existensialism.

Answer 1

inhumanism.

Question 2

According to the textbook,the cultural capital of California,prior to World War II,was

A)San Francisco.
B)Los Angeles.
C)Carmel.
D)San Jose.

Answer 2

San Francisco.

Question 3

Among the foremost California advocates of modernism were architects

A)Charles and Henry Greene.
B)Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan.
C)Irving Gill and Richard Neutra.
D)Imogen Cunningham and Dorothea Lange.

Answer 3

Irving Gill and Richard Neutra.

Question 4

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

A)won the Pulitzer Prize.
B)was a major financial success.
C)was banned in Kern County.
D)all of the above.

Question 5

Imogen Cunningham and Dorothea Lange distinguished themselves in

A)music.
B)architecture.
C)photography.
D)poetry.

Question 6

William Saroyan steadfastly refused to be attracted to southern California by the film industry.

Question 7

John Steinbeck's prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath was generally praised by political leaders in the Central Valley.

Question 8

Architect Julia Morgan

A)created the bungalow style in Pasadena and Glendale.
B)denounced William Randolph Hearst as "gross and obscene."
C)was the first woman to receive a degree in mechanical engineering from UC.
D)all of the above

Question 9

Bernard Maybeck's most famous building was

A)the Chronicle building in San Francisco.
B)the exhibition hall of the San Diego Panama Pacific Exposition.
C)San Francisco's Hallidie Building.
D)the San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts.

Question 10

In The Day of the Locust,novelist Nathanael West paints a very negative picture of the California dream.

Question 11

The subject of Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle is

A)the migration of the author's maternal ancestors,the Hamiltons,to the Salinas Valley.
B)a Communist-led strike of migratory farm workers.
C)the experiences of the Joad family coming to California.
D)pretentious middle-class values.

Question 12

The family dynasty that published the Los Angeles Times

A)ended in 2000.
B)was founded by William Randolph Hearst.
C)gained control of the San Francisco Chronicle in 1999.
D)also owned the Bee newspapers in the Central Valley.

Question 13

The world's first "glass skyscraper" was built in 1918 in

A)Los Angeles.
B)Pasadena.
C)San Diego.
D)San Francisco.

Question 14

William Saroyan's The Human Comedy,like most of his best writings,was based on his experiences in

A)Hollywood.
B)Paris.
C)Salinas.
D)Fresno.

Question 15

The architect who "rebuilt San Francisco" after the 1906 earthquake and fire was

A)Irving Gill.
B)Willis Polk.
C)John Galen Howard.
D)Bernard Maybeck.

Question 16

According to the textbook,California's greatest poet was Robinson Jeffers.

Question 17

According to the textbook,California's most important novelist was

A)Frank Norris.
B)William Saroyan.
C)John Steinbeck.
D)Nathanael West.

Question 18

The poems of Robinson Jeffers

A)were full of violence and tragedy.
B)have been imitated successfully by recent California poets.
C)increased in popularity during the depression years.
D)reflected the philosophy of humanism.

Question 19

The novel In Dubious Battle clearly established John Steinbeck's admiration of communism as a means of alleviating the plight of agricultural workers.

Question 20

Darryl Zanuck's investigation,before filming The Grapes of Wrath,revealed that actual conditions in California were

A)much better than Steinbeck had described.
B)about the same as Steinbeck had described.
C)even worse than Steinbeck had described.
D)none of the above

Question 21

The San Francisco bungalow style originated in the modest homes designed by Irving Gill in San Diego.

Question 22

The architect who designed Hearst Castle was Julia Morgan.

Question 23

By the mid-1960s,the Hearst newspaper chain had won the battle for dominance in the daily morning newspaper field in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Question 24

Explain the influence of William Randolph Hearst on 20^th-century California journalism.

Question 25

Describe the major architectural styles which appeared in California in the early 20^th century.How were they affected by distinctive local elements and national and international influences?

Question 26

Describe the major themes and works of Robinson Jeffers,John Steinbeck,and William Saroyan.How did their writings reflect their personal experiences in California?

Question 27

After the death of William Randolph Hearst,his home at San Simeon was given by his family to the state of California.