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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was unique about the Russian Revolution?
(a) It continues into the present day.
(b) Only the elite class was involved.
(c) People of all classes and occupations were centrally involved.
(d) It was purely a religious revolt.

2. In the seventeenth century, the decline of laughter as a primary force in folk culture resulted from:
(a) The exhaustion of any new sources of humor.
(b) The need of the public for other forms of diversion.
(c) The declining number of Carnival performers.
(d) An increasingly "official" culture of rationalism.

3. Why, according to Bakhtin, is Rabelais' parody of the Church not considered heresy?
(a) The Church received an annual tribute from Rabelais, so it overlooked his parodies.
(b) Rabelais follows every criticism with heartfelt praise.
(c) The clergy paid no attention to Rabelais' works.
(d) Rabelais maintains a comic style, so no one could mistake him for being serious.

4. How are Bakhtin and Rabelais similar?
(a) They both directly challenge the government by running for political office.
(b) They live in the same country.
(c) They both subvert the social prohibition on laughter, satire, and irony.
(d) They both write mostly novels.

5. Why did Bakhtin feel his times were comparable to those of the Renaissance?
(a) Two political leaders of the different eras were incredibly alike.
(b) Both eras were times of broad social change that left people unsure of how to proceed.
(c) The literatures and cultures of both eras bore a distinct resemblance.
(d) The specific threat of disease was killing many people in both times.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the prologue of _Pantagruel_ demonstrate the connection between literature and the marketplace?

2. What are the targets of the abusive language in Rabelais' prologue to the Third Book?

3. When did the Russian Revolution occur?

4. Why are Rabelais' billingsgate elements considered "coarse and cynical" by most scholars?

5. Why does Bakhtin consider oaths, curses, and profanities elements of freedom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Bakhtin's general idea about the purpose of art?

2. What is important about the figure of the physician in Rabelais' novel?

3. Describe the Catchpoles and what they symbolize.

4. What was the effect of the suspension of social hierarchies during Carnival?

5. In general, what happened to the use of humor in literature after Rabelais' time?

6. What does Rabelais parody with the character of Janotus de Bragmardo?

7. How does the marketplace become an indicator of folk culture in general?

8. What does Bakhtin mean when he argues that laughter affirms the people's unofficial truth?

9. What was Rabelais' relationship with the fairs based upon?

10. Describe Friar John.

(see the answer keys)

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