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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Bakhtin finds that ___________ are especially closely interwoven with the grotesque body.
(a) Secrets of lovers.
(b) Banquet images.
(c) Intelligent scholars.
(d) Acts of war.

2. In grotesque realism, the body is most often represented as:
(a) A whole unit, interior merged with exterior.
(b) A faulty copy of the Divine.
(c) Subordinate to the higher functions of the brain.
(d) Several separate units fighting with each other for superiority.

3. "The Treatise of Garcia of Toledo," which Bakhtin cites, is notable for:
(a) Its simple philosophy of religious asceticism.
(b) Its portrayal of the gluttony of the Pope.
(c) Its disregard for the festive tradition.
(d) Its retelling of ancient myths and fables.

4. Which side of the Renaissance debate about the nature of women and wedlock did Rabelais tend to take?
(a) The Idealizing tradition.
(b) The English tradition.
(c) The Gallic tradition.
(d) The Roman tradition.

5. According to Bakhtin, how did Rabelais invent many of the locales and characters in his novel?
(a) He traveled much and met many people.
(b) He wrote many letters asking friends for ideas.
(c) He rewrote stories from his childhood.
(d) He abused drugs and wrote down his hallucinations.

6. What is a Renaissance "diablerie"?
(a) A portion of Carnival in which actors dress up as devils.
(b) A series of prayers one says to beg forgiveness for misbehavior.
(c) A curse one shouts at another, meaning, "To the devil with you!"
(d) A type of behavior manual that purports to stop devilish behavior.

7. What does Bakhtin argue is the relationship between the death of Tappecoue and the episode of the Catchpoles?
(a) Sexual relationships take center stage in each event.
(b) The local people were shocked and saddened by each event.
(c) The sin of violence is paramount in each.
(d) Freedom and equality are expressed bodily and coarsely in each event.

8. In which element of Shakespeare's dramas does Bakhtin see the overall theme of Rabelais' carnivalesque repeated?
(a) In the farcical secondary characters.
(b) In the logic of crownings and uncrownings.
(c) In the strengths of characters such as Hamlet and Othello.
(d) In the tragic elements of Shakespeare's romances.

9. How is a "prophetic riddle" game carnivalesque in nature?
(a) It focuses on gaiety and humor.
(b) It stresses the importance of feasting and drinking.
(c) It is always sung in a rhymed singsong tone.
(d) It stresses the destruction of the established order and hierarchy of society.

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

11. In Rabelais' novel, the words "to die" are closely associated with:
(a) Being eaten or swallowed up.
(b) Sexual fulfillment.
(c) Losing a debate with a scholar.
(d) Passing out after drinking too much wine.

12. Why does Bakhtin cite Goethe as a source about the nature of Carnival?
(a) Goethe was the official organizer of Carnival in Frankfurt.
(b) Goethe's negative views about the common people provide a counterpoint to Bakhtin's views.
(c) Goethe and Rabelais were contemporaries and corresponded with each other regularly.
(d) Goethe was passionately interested in the festivity.

13. The defense of the abbey by Friar John contains:
(a) A travestied allusion to Communion.
(b) A grotesque combination of sexual intercourse and war.
(c) A caricature of the Pope.
(d) A debasing description of the French people.

14. Bakhtin notes that two of the most commonly combined themes in Medieval popular literature relating to monks are:
(a) Sex and death.
(b) Piety and cruelty.
(c) Envy and greed.
(d) Gluttony and desire.

15. What does Rabelais parody in his response to the episode of Gargantua's birth?
(a) The Medieval doctrine of faith.
(b) The Christian doctrine of submission.
(c) The Renaissance philosophy of humanism.
(d) The Classical philosophy of stoicism.

Short Answer Questions

1. What Renaissance series of works was highly influential to Rabelais' notion of the grotesque body?

2. Bakhtin asserts that Rabelais' grotesque conception of the body reflected:

3. How does Bakhtin define the combination of human and animal organs in Rabelais' novel?

4. What body part is most often used in grotesque caricatures of sexual potency?

5. What does Panurge fear if he gets married?

(see the answer keys)

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