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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. 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.

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

3. According to Bakhtin, the "birth" of the word by the clown is an example of:
(a) The switching of the lower bodily functions with the higher ones.
(b) The privileging of intellect over the baser functions of the body.
(c) The inherent comedic potential of words and speech.
(d) The difficulty of spreading information in an illiterate culture.

4. What happened to Rabelais after his novel was published?
(a) He was attacked by the Church and the government, but he remained free and successful.
(b) He was severely censured by the Church, then imprisoned and killed.
(c) He was praised for his honest portrayals of the people and given a government pension.
(d) He was questioned about his loyalty to France, then drafted into the army.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The defense of the abbey by Friar John contains:

2. Gargamelle gives birth to Gargantua as a result of:

3. What are examples of that which Bakhtin calls "cosmic terrors"?

4. Bakhtin asserts that "The Play in the Bower" influenced Rabelais' work specifically in its:

5. One of Rabelais' main sources for his enumerations of food was a Medieval treatise about:

Short Essay Questions

1. What was "prandial libertinism"?

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

3. How does Rabelais strengthen the exaggerated themes of his grotesque realism?

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

5. Discuss the significance of Gargantua's birth.

6. What is the nature of the carnivalesque crowd in Rabelais' novel?

7. How does Rabelais construct the episode of Epistemon's resurrection and of his visions in the underworld?

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

9. What is significant about the language in which Rabelais writes and the sources of many of his words?

10. How does Rabelais respond to the geographical changes of his own time and world?

(see the answer keys)

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