FPSC 2025

TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS

PART-I (MCQs) : MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES

(PART-I MCQs) MAXIMUM MARKS: 20

(PART-II) MAXIMUM MARKS: 80

NOTE: (i) First attempt PART-I (MCQs) on separate OMR Answer Sheet which shall be taken back after 30 minutes.

(ii) Overwriting/cutting of the options/answers will not be given credit.

(iii) There is no negative marking. All MCQs must be attempted.

PART-I (MCQs)(COMPULSORY)

Q.1. (i) Select the best option/answer and fill in the appropriate Box on the OMR Answer Sheet.(20x1=20)

(ii) Answers given anywhere else, other than OMR Answer Sheet, will not be considered.

1. George Bernard Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in:

2. What does the speaker learn from the leech-gatherer in Wordsworth’s poem?

(A) The value of solitude (B) The importance of wealth

The speaker learns **the virtue of patience and perseverance** from the leech-gatherer in William Wordsworth's poem "Resolution and Independence" (sometimes called "The Leech-Gatherer").

In the poem, the speaker is initially in a state of deep melancholy and anxiety about his own future and the fate of poets in general. Encountering the old **leech-gatherer**, who is poor but calmly and persistently goes about his difficult and solitary work, has a profound effect:

* **Patience:** The leech-gatherer's slow, deliberate movements and his steady, low-key manner of recounting his life and trade demonstrate a deep, quiet **patience** in the face of hardship.

* **Perseverance:** Despite his age, poverty, and the decline of his trade, he continues his difficult and uncommon work, illustrating remarkable **perseverance** (or "resolution" and "independence" as the poem's title suggests).

The speaker takes the man as an inspiration, resolving to be like him: "a man from whom / Instructions gather'd, that I, finally, / Have answered him with some determination / Of purpose, and a change of feeling." The leech-gatherer's example provides the speaker with the moral strength to overcome his despondency.

3. Harold Pinter shows the loss of spiritual life in ‘The Caretaker’ through the shattering of the statue of:

(A) Virgin Mary (B) Buddha (C) Christ (D) ST. Paul

## Symbolism of the Buddha Statue

The **Buddha statue**, which Aston keeps in the derelict room and cherishes, is one of the key symbols in the play.

* **Spiritual and Emotional Conflict:** The statue of Buddha, an icon of peace, enlightenment, and harmony, stands in sharp contrast to the atmosphere of **chaos, mental disorder, and existential angst** that pervades the room and the lives of the three characters (Aston, Mick, and Davies).

* **The Shattering:** The shattering of the statue by Mick in Act III is a climax of the play's tension. It symbolizes the violent **destruction of any potential for peace, order, or spiritual resolution** for the characters, reinforcing the bleak, absurd reality of their lives. It specifically represents the breakdown of the fragile living arrangement and the eventual expulsion of Davies.

4. In his essay ‘Self-Reliance’, Emerson stresses the importance of:

(A) Conforming to societal expectations (B) Relying on external authorities for guidance

In his essay, "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson strongly advocates for **individualism, nonconformity, and intuition**. He urges the reader to reject societal pressures and external authorities, and instead, to rely on their own thoughts, instincts, and moral compass.

5. What does Gabriel Oak do to save Bathsheba’s farm during a violent storm?

(A) Protects her grain from fire (B) Covers the ricks with tarpaulins

novel Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

During a violent storm, Gabriel Oak realizes the harvest in the ricks (large stacks of hay or grain) is unprotected and at risk of ruin from the rain. When Sergeant Troy, Bathsheba's husband, refuses to help because he and the farmhands are drunk, Gabriel single-handedly works to save the valuable produce by covering the ricks with tarpaulins and thatch. Bathsheba later joins him to help.

6. Paradox is a literary device in which you make a statement which is:

(A) Affirmative (B) Self-contradictory (C) Ironical (D) Humorous

A **paradox** is a statement that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

* It contains two opposing ideas that, when considered together, reveal a deeper truth.

For example, the phrase "**Less is more**" is a famous paradox. Taken literally, it's contradictory, but it conveys the truth that simplicity often yields greater value.

7. Which character in 1984 works at the Ministry of Truth and is involved in rewriting history?

(A) Winston Smith (B) Julia (C) O'Brien (D) Emmanuel Goldstein

Winston Smith works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), where his job is to rewrite historical documents, newspaper articles, and records to ensure they align with the Party's current, ever-changing version of "truth."

### Other Characters at the Ministry of Truth

While Winston Smith is the main character who rewrites history, other characters also work at the Ministry of Truth, though in different departments:

* **Julia** works in the Fiction Department, operating a novel-writing machine.

* **Syme** works there as well, specializing in language and compiling the eleventh edition of the Newspeak dictionary.

* **Parsons**, Winston's neighbor, is also a coworker at the Ministry of Truth.

8. William Wordsworth is associated with which literary movement?

(A) The Renaissance (B) Romanticism (C) Modernism (D) Realism

He was one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in English literature, which began in the late 18th century and peaked in the first half of the 19th century. His 1798 collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, *Lyrical Ballads*, is considered the starting point of the movement in England. Romanticism emphasized:

* **Emotion and Imagination** over rationalism and order.

* The **sublime beauty of nature** as a source of spiritual truth and inspiration.

* The importance of the **individual and common man**, using simple, everyday language in poetry.

9. ‘The Lotus Eater’ by Maugham shares a similar theme of indulgence and pleasure with ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ by:

(A) Oscar Wilde (B) Forster (C) Kipling (D) None of these

The Picture of Dorian Gray was written by Oscar Wilde. Its main theme is hedonism and the pursuit of eternal pleasure and beauty, exploring the moral decay that results from a life of unchecked self-indulgence.

"The Lotus Eater" by W. Somerset Maugham tells the story of Thomas Wilson, a man who gives up his job to live a life of leisure and enjoyment on the island of Capri for a limited time, only to be ruined by the indolence of this "lotus-eater" life, mirroring the theme of indulgence and the consequences of a life devoted solely to pleasure.

10. Which play is considered Shakespeare’s longest play?

(A) Hamlet (B) Macbeth (C) Othello (D) Romeo and Juliet

It is the longest of Shakespeare's plays by a considerable margin, typically containing over 4,000 lines and around 30,000 words in its full, unabridged form.

11. Which group of intellectuals constitutes a trinity in Postcolonial Theory?

(A) Said, Derrida, Barthes (B) Barthes, Kristeva, Young

## The Postcolonial Trinity

The trinity most commonly referred to in discussions of Postcolonial Theory consists of:

* **Edward Said** (known for *Orientalism*)

* **Homi K. Bhabha** (known for concepts like **hybridity** and the **third space**)

* **Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak** (known for her essay **"Can the Subaltern Speak?"** and her work on deconstruction and feminism)

These three scholars are central to the development and articulation of the key theoretical concerns of postcolonial studies.

12. Keats sees an intricate link between melancholy and:

(A) Anxiety (B) Beauty (C) Sadness (D) Love

In John Keats's poem **"Ode on Melancholy,"** he establishes an intrinsic and inseparable link between **Melancholy** and the experience of intense **Beauty** and **Joy**.

* For Keats, melancholy is not a separate, negative emotion to be avoided, but the inevitable, profound realization that the peak experience of **Beauty** and **Pleasure** is fleeting and must eventually die.

* He states that the seat of melancholy is found "in the very temple of Delight" and that "she dwells with **Beauty** - **Beauty** that must die."

* The overwhelming awareness of the transience of beauty is what gives rise to the deepest melancholy.

13. “Where youth grows pale and spectre-thin and dies” is a line from Keats’ Ode to:

(A) Autumn (B) Beauty (C) Nightingale (D) Psyche

The line "Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies" is from the final stanza (Stanza VII) of **John Keats's** "Ode to a **Nightingale**."

## Context of the Line

In the "Ode to a Nightingale," Keats contemplates the **immortality** of the bird's song in contrast to the **mortality** and suffering of human life. The line describes the human world—the world the speaker must return to—which is plagued by:

* **Poverty** and **sickness** ("where men sit and hear each other groan")

* The **transience** of beauty ("Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes")

* The **death** of the young, which is summarized by the quoted line.

The bird's song, by contrast, is a symbol of a timeless and changeless realm, free from such decay.

14. ‘In The Wasteland’, Eliot entreats his readers to come under the shadow of:

(A) God (B) Red Rock (C) London Bridge (D) Tree

In T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, the line "Come in under the shadow of this red rock," appears in "The Burial of the Dead," the first section of the poem. It is an echo of a passage from the biblical Book of Isaiah (32:2), but Eliot re-contextualizes it in the landscape of the poem's spiritual and emotional barrenness.

15. Tennyson’s poetry is characterized by his belief in:

(A) Unflinching human spirit (B) Wavering human nature

The most fitting answer is (D) Both (A) & (C) because the "unflinching human spirit" and the "nobility of human soul" both represent positive, resilient aspects of humanity, while "wavering human nature" reflects the inherent flaws or potential for evil that also exists.

16. William Congreve was an English poet and politician with a:

(A) Whig outlook (B) Tory outlook (C) Evangelical outlook (D) Protestant outlook

William Congreve was a committed **Whig** throughout his career.

The literary age in which William Congreve was a prominent figure is the Restoration period and the start of the Augustan Age.

* He was a member of the influential **Kit-Cat Club**, a group predominantly composed of prominent Whig writers, artists, and politicians.

* His political loyalty was rewarded with lucrative government positions after the Whig-friendly accession of **George I in 1714**, most notably as Secretary of the Island of Jamaica.

* Sources note that he held government posts "despite his stance as a Whig among Tories" during periods of Tory dominance.

The Whigs, during Congreve's time, generally supported constitutional monarchism and had a more commercial, middle-class base, in contrast to the Tory focus on royal power and landownership.

17. Both Joyce and Murdoch are similar in their use of a literary motif of:

(A) Shackles (B) Chains (C) Labyrinth (D) Wheel

The correct answer is **(C) Labyrinth**.

Both James Joyce and Iris Murdoch extensively employ the motif of the **Labyrinth** (or maze) to structure their narratives and explore complex themes of human existence, morality, and navigation through the world.

***

## The Labyrinth Motif in Joyce and Murdoch

### James Joyce and the Labyrinth

The labyrinth is a central organizing principle in Joyce's magnum opus, ***Ulysses*** (1922).

* **The City as Labyrinth:** The entire structure of the novel follows Leopold Bloom's journey through **Dublin** on June 16, 1904. Dublin itself becomes the sprawling, complex, and often disorienting labyrinth that Bloom and Stephen Dedalus must navigate.

* **Mythological Parallel:** The novel's parallel structure to Homer's *Odyssey* links Bloom (as the modern Odysseus) to the ancient Greek myth of the labyrinth, emphasizing his seemingly endless, winding path home.

* **The Search for Meaning:** The motif represents the chaotic nature of modern life and the difficulty of finding a clear path or stable meaning within it.

### Iris Murdoch and the Labyrinth

Murdoch frequently uses the labyrinth to represent the difficulties her characters face in their **moral and philosophical journeys**.

* **Moral and Metaphysical Maze:** Critics often note that Murdoch's representation of **London** in her early novels, such as ***Under the Net*** (1954), is expressed as a labyrinth or a **"net"** (a related image) that characters get tangled in. The city is a physical and metaphorical representation of the protagonist's self-absorption and his struggle to see the reality of others.

* **Internal Struggle:** The labyrinth symbolizes the intricate and confusing paths characters take in their pursuit of identity, freedom, and truth, often leading them into conflict with manipulative, "enchanter" figures who attempt to control the maze.

* **Ariadne's Thread:** The search for an "Ariadne's thread" (a clear guide through the maze) is a recurring thematic concern, highlighting the necessity of **"attention"**—Murdoch's philosophical term for a just and loving gaze directed toward reality—to escape the maze of ego and illusion.

18. In Greek mythology, Icarus is often seen as a symbol of:

Icarus is a classic symbol of both **Hubris** and **Recklessness** due to the nature of his downfall.

## The Story and Symbolism

* **Hubris (B):** This term refers to **excessive pride or defiance** of the gods (or, in the modern sense, a failure to heed warnings due to arrogance). Icarus's father, Daedalus, warned him not to fly too low (lest the dampness clog the wings) or too high. Icarus, filled with the **pride** of flight and exhilarated by his freedom, flew too close to the sun, defying his father's explicit command.

* **Recklessness (C):** Icarus's action of flying higher and higher without regard for the danger or the clear instructions he was given demonstrates **recklessness**—a lack of proper caution and a rash, careless nature.

* **The Downfall:** When he flew too close to the sun, the wax holding his feather wings melted, causing him to fall into the sea and drown. This tragic end serves as a cautionary tale against overreaching the boundaries of human capability.

19. Philip Larkin was often associated with a post-war literary movement named:

(A) The Beat Generation (B) The Movement (C) The Bloomsbury Group (D) The Imagist Movement

Philip Larkin was a leading figure in **The Movement**, a post-World War II literary group in Britain that emerged in the 1950s.

## The Movement and Larkin's Style

* **A Reaction:** The Movement was a reaction against what its members considered the excesses and emotional grandiosity of **Modernism** (like T.S. Eliot) and the **Neo-Romanticism** of the 1940s (like Dylan Thomas).

* **Key Characteristics:** Poets like Larkin, Kingsley Amis, and Donald Davie favored a style characterized by:

* **Clarity and Simplicity:** Using straightforward, accessible, and often colloquial language.

* **Anti-Romanticism/Skepticism:** Adopting an understated, skeptical, and often ironic tone.

* **Formal Structure:** Returning to traditional poetic forms, meter, and rhyme.

* **Themes:** Focusing on the mundane, everyday life, and the limited expectations of post-war middle-class Britain.

20. In ‘Long Day’s Journey’ into Night, the senior Tyrone has an obsession with:

(A) Buying junk property (B) Buying new apartment (C) Planting Trees (D) Changing Houses

In Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, senior Tyrone is characterized by his obsession with purchasing properties that are not of good value, often referred to as "junk property.". This obsession stems from a combination of his fear of poverty and a desire to secure his family's future, even if it means investing in questionable ventures. His purchases are often impulsive and driven by a sense of desperation, further highlighting his underlying anxieties.

The senior Tyrone's primary obsession in Long Day's Journey into Night is with money and financial security, which stems from his crippling fear of poverty due to his impoverished youth.

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Roll Number FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION-2025 FOR RECRUITMENT TO

POSTS IN BS-17 UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

ENGLISH LITERATURE

PART-II

NOTE: (i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.

(ii) Attempt ONLY FOUR questions from PART-II. ALL questions carry EQUAL marks.

(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different

places.

(iv) Write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.

(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.

(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the question will not be considered.

Q. No. 2. The Structuralist and Poststructuralist theories have invaded the core assumptions of Humanism regarding human subjectivity, language, nature and culture. Elaborate by building up an argument with reference to major debates in the field.

Q. No. 3. T. S. Eliot’s poetry can be read like a mystery religion in its own right by reinforcing the cardinal principles of Christian morality blended with myths and allusions all over the world. Elaborate with reference to pertinent textual instances from Eliot’s poems.

Q. No. 4. D. H. Lawrence represents the complex shades of human relationship, both intimate and familial, by showing his characters’ vulnerability in maintaining a balance between desire and duty, sensuality and spirituality and impersonalization and engagement.

Q. No. 5. After reading O ’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’, one gets the feeling that as a typical Irish family, religious blasphemy, albeit in its different manifestation, runs in all four Tyrones. Discuss with special reference to relevant textual sites.

Q. No. 6. Emerson's transcendentalism shares some chief features with the esoteric voices of East, including Muhammad Iqbal and Maulana Rumi, highlighting a cross-cultural resonance between Western and Eastern spiritual philosophies. Comment.

Q. No. 7. Reading Wordsworth’s poetry one hears the “still sad music of humanity” thatRomanticism celebrates as a core value of literature. Elaborate in the context of relevant poetic instances from the poet.

Q. No. 8. What is the significance of the title of Somerset Mugham’s ‘The Lotus Eater’ inrelation to human sufferings and fragility as intrinsic to existence?

**********

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