UGC NET English Dec 2024 Question Paper: 7 Must know World Literatures in English and the Diaspora Beyond the UK, USA, and India

Nerd's Table
May 3
7 min read

The UGC NET English Dec 2024 Question Paper reaffirmed the evolving focus of literary studies by placing strategic emphasis on World Literatures in English and the Diaspora, especially those beyond the familiar domains of the UK, USA, and India. A total of 7 questions directly tested the aspirant’s understanding of global literary figures, postcolonial discourses, and diaspora narratives — making this an indispensable area for last-minute revision.

These questions did not simply test literary content, but also demanded conceptual clarity on critical terms like “Flâneur” (Baudelaire), “Habitus” (Bourdieu), “Imagined Communities” (Benedict Anderson), and “Thick Description” (Geertz) — showing the interdisciplinary nature of literature in the global context.

Students were also tested on:

The chronology of Pablo Neruda’s works,
The ordering of landmark novels like Lives of Girls and Women (1971) to Birnam Wood (2023),
Recognition of diasporic and postcolonial writers such as Kim Scott, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, and Kevin Gilbert,
Thematic identification in novels exploring apartheid, including July’s People and Cry, the Beloved Country.

This set of questions clearly reflects the NTA’s commitment to a more globally integrated literary syllabus. For candidates preparing for upcoming cycles, this list serves as an essential guide to what must be revised — thoroughly and strategically.

Make note of the following 7 questions — each one a potential score-booster in your final exam performance.

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:

A and B only
B and C only
C and D only
A and E only

Explanations

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.

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.

E, C, D, B, A
A, B, C, D, E
E, D, B, C, A
B, D, E, C, A

Explanations

Answer: 4. B, D, E, C, A

🔹 Chronological Order:

B. Works and Book of Turlights – 1923 📖 One of Neruda’s earliest poetic works, reflecting youthful intensity and experimental style.
D. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair – 1924 📖 His breakthrough collection, blending romanticism and modernist influence, highly popular even today.
E. The Trying of Infinite Man – 1926 📖 A lesser-known early philosophical collection that explores existence and human emotion.
C. The Inhabitant and His Hope – 1926 📖 A play written early in Neruda’s career, reflecting themes of dreams, solitude, and human longing.
A. Spain in the Heart – 1937 📖 Written in response to the Spanish Civil War, this work marks Neruda’s shift toward political poetry.

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:

D, B, A, C, E
B, A, D, C, E
C, B, D, A, E
C, A, D, B, E

Explanations

Answer: 4. C, A, D, B, E

🔹 Chronological Order:

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.
A. The English Patient – 1992 📚 By Michael Ondaatje — A Booker Prize-winning novel set during World War II, blending love, loss, and memory.
D. Family Matters – 2002 📚 By Rohinton Mistry — A novel about aging, caregiving, and family in modern Bombay.
B. The Swinging Bridge – 2003 📚 By Ramabai Espinet — A powerful novel of diaspora, identity, and Indo-Caribbean history.
E. Birnam Wood – 2023 📚 By Eleanor Catton — A contemporary eco-thriller dealing with environmental activism and capitalism.

Question 57

Match the LIST-I with LIST-II

LIST-I (Novel)	LIST-II (Novelist)
A. The Childhood of Jesus	I. L. P. Hartley
B. The Go-Between	II. Evelyn Waugh
C. Brideshead Revisited	III. J. M. Coetzee
D. The Catcher in the Rye	IV. J. D. Salinger

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

A-I, B-IV, C-III, D-II
A-III, B-I, C-II, D-IV
A-IV, B-II, C-I, D-III
A-II, B-III, C-IV, D-I

Explanations

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.

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:

B, C and D only
C, D and E only
A, C and D only
B, A and E only

Explanations

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.

Question 59

Which of the following is not an autobiography?

Patrick White : A Life
Long Walk to Freedom
My Experiments with Truth
Akkarmashi (The Outcaste)

Explanations

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.

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:

C and E only
A, C and D only
B, C and E only
A and B only

Explanations

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.

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