The Important Novels for UGC NET English that You Can’t Afford to Miss
There are plenty of novels in English literature. The list is so long that it is enough to intimidate any aspirant. Therefore, in this blog post, I have shared the names of some important novels for UGC NET English 2023. I have curated the list based on the question type of previous year’s question papers.
What I mean by “important novels” is that you must include them on the list of novels in your preparation. Your preparation is incomplete without these novels. If you are thinking of how to read and approach these novels, then read our blog post on how to prepare for UGC NET English.
I hope this makes your preparation a little bit easy.
List of Important Novels
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
“Which of the following characters is killed in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in conformity with an African tribal custom?
(A) Okonkwo
(B) Obierika (C) Ikemefuna (D) Nwoye” (2013-september paper-2)
The African novel centers around Okonkwo and the loss of traditional values. Okonkwo, a leader of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, kills the son of a deceased man at his funeral. Consequently, he and his family go into exile. In the meantime, British colonists arrive there. They start to impose their rule and laws.
When he returns, he notices the change in his people under the influence of white people.
Okonkwo wants to eradicate the dominance of Christianity in his tribal community and revolt against them. He destroys a church with some men. As a result, the authority put them in jail. At last, when he thinks of rebelling against the white regime, he realizes that his people will not help him in this regard. He feels lost and hopeless.
At last, Okonkwo commits suicide because of his inability to accept the changes and his dismay at losing his traditional customs. Overall, the novel explores the clash between traditional African culture and the modern world and the consequences of colonization on individual lives and communities.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
“In Wuthering Heights, Cathy appears in a dream beating at a window, wailing “Let me in”, and blood running down her wrist. Who dreams of her?
(A) Lockwood (B) Nelly
(C) Heathcliff (D) Edgar Linton” (2013-June-P3)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is a Victorian novel that follows the story of two families living at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood comes to stay in Thrushcross Grange as a tenant. While sleeping, Lockwood sees a nightmare where a small girl beats at a window and asks, “Let me in.” The incident leads him to discover the stories of two families, the Earnshaw and Linton family.
It centers around the love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Despite their deep love for Heathcliff, Catherine chooses Edgar Linton for marriage. It makes Heathcliff feel jealous and resentful. He leaves Wuthering Heights in anger and despair.
Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights several years later as a wealthy man. He seeks vengeance for his ill-treatment by Hindley and against Edgar. Heathcliff avenges Edgar by marrying his sister and hurting her mentally. At the end of the tragic story, both Heathcliff and Catherine die. Cathy, daughter of Catherine, marries Heathcliff’s son, Linton.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
“For which one of the following reasons, in Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gray breaks down when he sees his finished portrait?
1. Overwhelmed by the beauty of the portrait
2. Overjoyed by the feeling that his beauty will be known to all
3. Distraught by the fact that his beauty will fade while the portrait stays beautiful 4. Distraught by the badly drawn portrait.” (2019 June)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde centers around the handsome young man Dorian Gray and his magical portrait.
Dorian’s beauty fascinates an artist, Basil Hallward. Therefore, he draws a portrait of Dorian.
The strange thing is portrait will age and change its appearance, but Dorian himself will remain young. Dorian starts engaging in debauchery. The more he indulges in excess pleasure, the more the portrait deteriorates.
In the end, Dorian feels guilty for the life he has been living. Consequently, he tries to destroy the portrait. In the process, Dorian dies, and the portrait turns into its original state.
1984
George Orwell’s 1984 is a dystopian novel that shows the fruitless fight of Winston Smith against a totalitarian party in Oceania. The Ingsoc is the single ruling party, and Big Brother is its leader. Every Outer Party member is under surveillance by the telescreen. Diary writing, having rebellious thoughts known as thoughtcrime, privacy, love, etc. also forbidden.
Winston is fed up with the party’s ideologies and he, Julia, and O’Brien join in the secret conspiracy against Big Brother.
However, the party catches them and punishes them. Winston hears the telescreen announces the celebration of Oceania’s victory over Eurasian armies in Africa. Winston finally accepts that he loves Big Brother.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
“‘Ah ! I’ll never, never meet such a man again. You ought to have heard him recite poetry … Oh, he enlarged my mind.” In Heart of Darkness, these words about Kurtz are spoken by
(A) the manager (B) the intended (C) the first-class agent (D) the Russian” (June 2013-paper-3)
Another question is,
“Who narrates Heart of Darkness?
(1) Marlow (2) Director of Companies (3) Kurtz (4) An unnamed narrator” (July-2016-paper 2)
Lord of the Flies
“Which two names from R.M Ballantyne’s Coral Island are repeated in William Golding’s reworking of the same text as Lord of the Flies?
- Ralph 2. Roger 3. Jack 4. Simon
The correct option is: 1. (a) and (d) 2. (a) and (c) 3. (c) and (d) 4. (b) and (d)” (december-2019)
Lord of the Flies is a satirical novel about human civilization. Golding sets the setting on an island where a group of boys is stranded after a plane crash. As they come into contact with the wildness, some of them begin to behave wildly, and there begins a power struggle between them. It leads to a physical confrontation between them.
Moby Dick
“What is the name of the boat that rescues Ishmael in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick? (1) Pequod (2) Rachel (3) Hagar (4) Sphinx” (2016-july-paper-2)
Another question,
“The following passages are the very first lines of well-known works. Match the lines and the works:
I. Let us go then, you and I….. a. Moby Dick II. Call me Ishmael….. b. Macbeth III. When shall we three meet again? c. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” IV. He disappeared in the dead of winter d. Tristram Shandy V. I wish either….begot me ….. e. “In Memory of W. B. Yeats”
(A) I-c; II-a; III-b; IV-e; V-d (B) I-e; II-b; III-a; IV-c; V-d (C) I-b; II-a; III-d; IV-e; V-c (D) I-b; II-e; III-d; IV-c; V-a” (2012-june-paper 2)
Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick (1851) tells the story of Ahab and how his quest for revenge leads him to his destruction. Ishmael, the narrator, and a sailor sign up for a whaling ship, The Pequod, to escape the mainland.
The captain of the ship Ahab becomes obsessed with killing a giant white whale. In his previous encounter with the whale, Moby Dick, Ahab loses one of his legs. Therefore, he does not listen to the crew and continues his hunt to fulfill his revenge. In the last confrontation with Moby Dick, Captain Ahab harpoons the whale but cannot kill it. Moby Dick drags The Pequod underwater. The Pequod sinks into the ocean, and all die except Ishmael. A small boat, The Town-Ho, rescues Ishmael.
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