This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 12, Chapter 4 - Banquet Imagery & Chapter 5 - The Grotesque Image of the Body and Its Sources.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Did the "unofficial" and "official" forms of speech ever coincide?
(a) No, both forms of speech were highly regulated.
(b) Yes, except for religious holidays.
(c) Yes, especially during festivals.
(d) No, except during times of war.

2. What do wine and oil symbolize in Rabelais' novel?
(a) Sickness and hangovers versus a useful cooking ingredient.
(b) Since both are flammable, they symbolize hellfire.
(c) Hard harvest work in the vineyards and olive groves.
(d) Free, festive speech versus religious piety and seriousness.

3. Bakhtin asserts that man introduces the world to himself primarily through which act?
(a) Observing nature.
(b) Eating.
(c) Conversation.
(d) Sexual intercourse.

4. What are the "Catchpoles" of which Rabelais writes?
(a) Animals sent into the wild as sacrifices.
(b) People who earn money by allowing others to beat them.
(c) Vegetables which require being strung to a pole in order to grow.
(d) Materials used to build large meeting-houses.

5. Why are Rabelais' billingsgate elements considered "coarse and cynical" by most scholars?
(a) The Latin derivations of his scatological vocabulary mean "cynical."
(b) These elements express a deep distrust of contemporary society.
(c) Many scholars believe that Rabelais himself was bitter from publication disputes.
(d) Many scholars interpret them only in a modern context.