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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. Bakhtin finds food and drink representative of society because:
(a) Certain societies eat only certain foods.
(b) Feasts were the only time available for socialization.
(c) The work of collecting and preparing meals was a community affair.
(d) The type of food or drink determines the type of person.

2. How does Bakhtin define the combination of human and animal organs in Rabelais' novel?
(a) "Horrifying."
(b) "Scientific."
(c) "Otherworldly."
(d) "Grotesque."

3. Where did Rabelais collect most of his rich vocabulary?
(a) From vernacular speech.
(b) From poetic manuscripts.
(c) From monastic inscriptions.
(d) From scientific treatises.

4. Bakhtin defines Rabelais' giants as:
(a) Debased clowns.
(b) Divine images.
(c) Subhuman creatures.
(d) Grotesque figures.

5. After Rabelais' time, what happens to the "body" as a general social idea?
(a) The body is exalted for its natural functions only.
(b) The body gets restricted and individualized.
(c) The body expands to include the universal consciousness.
(d) The body appears to reduce in size and strength.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what does Panurge suggest the protective walls of Paris be built?

2. In grotesque realism, the body is most often represented as:

3. What is especially apparent in Rabelais' own "Pantagruelesque Prognostic" prophecy?

4. Goethe traces the roots of Carnival to the:

5. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Bakhtin argues that Rabelais' entire novel exhibits a clear, general __________ thematic trend.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bakhtin choose to relate Goethe to Rabelais' work?

2. Describe the figure of "Gros Guillaume" and his significance to Rabelais' novel.

3. Why are eating and drinking two of the most important manifestations of the grotesque body?

4. What is the significance of "cuckoldry," and how is it portrayed?

5. What is the significance of the figure of the androgyne in Rabelais' novel?

6. How is "folly" ambivalent?

7. How do the Medieval and Renaissance pictures of the cosmos differ?

8. What does Bakhtin mean when he writes that popular-festive carnivalesque performances have no "footlights"?

9. What is the role of games in Rabelais' work?

10. How does Rabelais use the element of popular speech known as "coq-à-l'âne"?

(see the answer keys)

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