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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. Celine followed what political affiliation?

2. Chapter 9 "Ours to Jew or Die" begins with a quote that was taken from a letter written to whom?

3. In which of Celine's books does his character Molly appear?

4. According to Kristeva, Celine's language exhibits a fascination with what kind of speech?

5. Kristeva says she gets a feeling from reading Celine that she does not get from whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kristeva say it is rash to ignore any value one might find in the Anti-Semitism in Celine's work?

2. What does Kristeva mean when she says Celine's language exhibits a fascination with what might be called "binary" speech?

3. Why might Kristeva say many of Celine's stylistic choices be called anti-linguistic or anti-grammatical?

4. How does Kristeva seem to feel about Celine's Nazism?

5. How did Celine seem to feel about the French language and the English language?

6. How did Celine use strong women in his works?

7. Describe Celine's mother type of character.

8. How does Kristeva say Celine's work represents the division caused by economic inequality?

9. How, according to Kristeva, do Celine's works draw the reader to their primal repressions?

10. How does Kristeva say Celine displaced the mother in his depiction of very young girls?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Kristeva's reasoning for saying Celine's Nazism should not deter from the value of his work. What does Kristeva say about Celine's Nazism? Why does she say it need not detract from his writings? Does it seem like she is making excuses, or is what she says valid? What techniques does Kristeva use to convey her views on his Nazism?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Kristeva set out on this journey to explain and even further understand the abject herself? If the abject is not expressible through language, what would be the purpose of trying to explain it in words, the way Kristeva has? What does she say the purpose of understanding and even confronting the abject is? How effective do you think Kristeva was at explaining the abject? Explain your answer with examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the concept of the "zero-state" in young children. What does Kristeva mean when she talks about the zero state? What happens when a child starts to come out of the zero state? What are some of the fears and desires that a young, pre-cognitive child might have? How do the fears and desires sync up with Freud's model of the Oedipal triangle? How do they go against it?

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