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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is structuralism "anti-humanist," for Eagleton?
(a) Because it rejected the myth that meaning begins and ends with individual experience.
(b) Because it rejected the myth that humanity was humane.
(c) Because it rejected the myth the individual experience begins and ends with structure.
(d) Because it rejected the myth that individuality was humanist.

2. According to Eagleton, one of the gains of structuralism is that it represents a "remorseless _____of literature."
(a) Demystification.
(b) Mystification.
(c) Idealization.
(d) Rationlization.

3. According to Eagleton, what is the disadvantage of claiming literature as more valuable and rewarding than other texts?
(a) Because it is true.
(b) Because it partly true.
(c) Because it is no longer true.
(d) Because it is untrue.

4. The transition from structuralism to post-structuralism is partly in response to what movement?
(a) Christian movement.
(b) Marxist's movement.
(c) Women's movement.
(d) Student movement.

5. According to Eagleton, "the idea that there are 'non-political' forms of criticism" is a what?
(a) Fact.
(b) Reality.
(c) Ideal.
(d) Myth.

6. For Jacques Lacan, "meaning is always in some sense an _______."
(a) Allocation.
(b) Abdication.
(c) Approximation.
(d) Amalgamation.

7. What text did Tzvetan Todorov attempt a grammatical analysis of so that the characters were nouns, their attributes adjectives, and actions verbs?
(a) Twain's "Tom Sawyer."
(b) Boccaccio's "Decameron."
(c) Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."
(d) Updike's "Rabbit."

8. According to Eagleton, what is the oldest form of literary criticism?
(a) Sociology.
(b) Philosophy.
(c) Religion.
(d) Rhetoric.

9. How did post-structuralism respond to France's student movement's failed attempt to break state power?
(a) Post-structuralism sought to create a more powerful language.
(b) Post-structuralism sought to break the structures of language.
(c) Post-structuralism sought to create a free language.
(d) Post-structuralism sought to break state power.

10. According to Roland Barthes, what kind of sign draws attention to its own arbitrariness?
(a) An unproductive sign.
(b) A healthy sign.
(c) An unhealthy sign.
(d) A productive sign.

11. What is one problem of adopting a plurality of critical methods, for Eagleton?
(a) Some methods are no longer available.
(b) Not all methods are compatible.
(c) One should start from the beginning.
(d) One should adopt the latest method.

12. According to Eagleton, the women's movement is not just about women having equal status and power as men, it is what?
(a) The rejection of men's status and power.
(b) The abdication of sex altogether in relations of status and power.
(c) The questioning of all status and power.
(d) The acceptance of sexual difference in relations of status and power.

13. What does Jacques Derrida label any thought system which depends on an unassailable foundation?
(a) Metaphysical.
(b) Mythical.
(c) Philosophical.
(d) Teleological.

14. According to Eagleton, structuralism is a ________of inquiry whereas semiotics is a ______ of study.
(a) Type; manner.
(b) Method; field.
(c) Field; type.
(d) Manner; field.

15. How are "writable" texts different from ones that can be read?
(a) Writable texts encourage the reader/critic to become a consumer of the text.
(b) Writable texts encourage the reader/critic to become a producer of the text.
(c) Writable texts encourage the author/writer to reject the reader/critic of the text.
(d) Writable texts encourage the author/writer to become the reader/critic of the text.

Short Answer Questions

1. For Roland Barthes, what kind of literature attempts to conceal the constructed nature of language?

2. What is the difference between metaphor and metonymy?

3. According to Eagleton, what term is "most-widely touted" in cultural theory?

4. According to the feminist philosopher Julia Kristeva, the language of the semiotic is a means of what?

5. What is the name of two principles Sigmund Freud identified?

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