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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What other famous author does Barthes compare misunderstandings in language to in "Dominici, or the Triumph of Literature"?

2. In "The 'Blue Blood' Cruise," what is the name of the yacht used by the royals?

3. What other alcoholic beverage is wine contrasted to in "Wine and Milk"?

4. "In France, drunkenness is a _____." How is this quote from "Wine and Milk" finished?

5. In "The Nautilus and the Drunken Boat," what are most ships in legend of fiction?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the writer discussed in "The Nautilus and the Drunken Boat"? What is Barthes opinion of this writer's ambitions?

2. What are the two signs that are discussed in "The Romans in Films?" What do they suggest of Roman and modern culture?

3. "Hitch the greatness of the former to the triumph of the latter." To what does this quote from "Operation Margarine" apply?

4. From reading "Ornamental Cookery," why would you say that Elle creates such a grandiose food section for a working-class readership?

5. What is Charlie Chaplin presenting to audiences in the film "Modern Times"?

6. How does royalty dress in "The 'Blue Blood' Cruise"? What does this say of the royal families?

7. How is the opening claim in "Neither-Nor Criticism" that "criticism must be 'neither a parlour game, nor a municipal service'" affect the remainder of the article?

8. Why are the "Ornamental Cookery" images in Elle magazine put fourth in vain?

9. What are "Toys," according to the author?

10. What is particularly special of the "Jet-Man"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What journalism/literature devalues the human experience, according to the author? How and why do people let this happen?

Essay Topic 2

What non-living objects does the author give life to in "Mythologies?" Of which examples is the author's tone positive and which negative?

Essay Topic 3

What does the author say of critics? Who are critics to him and why are they relevant/irrelevant? What are the themes of the essays he writes specifically about critics? How are these essays similar/different to others in the book?

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