Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării

Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2009

Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba Engleză
L1 - Intensiv 3-4 ore
SUBIECTUL I ( 30 de puncte) Varianta 060

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

The most controversial aspect of Gone with the Wind is the film’s depiction of race
relations. Gone with the Wind’s depiction of slavery remains decidedly simplistic. The film shows
slaves as well-treated, blindly cheerful “darkies” loyal to their benevolent masters. Slaves are
portrayed as normal employees, are rewarded with presents like the master’s pocket watch (1) …
and are allowed to scold the young mistress of the house as if they were a part of the family.
Although there was no talk of pay after their emancipation, the former slaves show no
interest in leaving Scarlet. The slaves who choose to seek their freedom are looked down on,
either portrayed as unscrupulous or as gullible pawns of the political parties.
More damaging than Gone with the Wind’s simplistic view of slavery, however, is the film’s
depiction of all African Americans as not being intelligent people. (2) … , but Pork, the only named
male house slave, is forced to appear in scene after scene with a wide-eyed, slightly glazed
expression on his face. When faced with work duties beyond those he has always performed (3)…
Big Sam’s grammar is chopped down to an extremely simplistic level, far below even that of the
equally uneducated Mammy. (4) … Perhaps intended as comic relief, Prissy is a liar, and becomes
hysterical over the smallest things. She is a living holdover from the slaveholder’s old claim that
African Americans needed to be slaves because they weren’t able to function on their own. As a
result, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People tried to arrange a boycott
of the film by black audiences and, to a lesser extent, black actors.

1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for
each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
4 points
A. Mammy manages to escape the film with her dignity largely intact
B. The worst example of this negative portrayal is the young house slave Prissy.
C. if they’ve been appropriately loyal,
D. he immediately becomes overwhelmed and panics.
E. Big Sam leaves Tara only when ordered and with extreme reluctance

2. Explain the underlined words. 6 points

3. Sum up the text in about 50 words. 10 points

4. For the following questions, choose the answer (A, B, C, D) which fits according to the
text. 6 points

1. Which is the perspective on slavery in Gone with the Wind?

A. a realistic one
B. a superficial one
C. a modern one
D. a deeply profound one

2. How is Pork portrayed?

A. ironically
B. sensitively
C. offensively
D. flatteringly
 Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

3. What kind of relationship did the masters have with their slaves in Gone with the Wind?
A. a patronizing one
B. an oppressive one
C. a lenient one
D. a cautious one

5. Comment on the relationship between the slaves and their masters as seen in Gone with
the Wind. (100 words) 4 points