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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does young Gargantua study in order to become acquainted with the common folk?

2. Medieval parodies were:

3. What are the "intelligentsia"?

4. Which answer best describes "grotesque realism"?

5. The core images of the prologue of _Gargantua_ are:

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bakhtin state that in Rabelais' novel everyday kitchen implements and foods have an intrinsic value?

2. How does Bakhtin get around the prohibition of certain kinds of satire and irony in his own time?

3. What role do oaths and profanities fill in Rabelais' novel?

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

5. How does Rabelais describe the human body in the context of grotesque realism?

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

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

8. Why do modern readers find it difficult to read Rabelais' novel?

9. What are the "cris de Paris," or "street cries"?

10. How does Bakhtin interpret the prologue of _Pantagruel_?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how laughter permeates every aspect of Renaissance folk culture, as Bakhtin argues it does. Cite specific examples from the text regarding the carnivalesque, the grotesque, official/unofficial modes of speech, and the ambivalence of certain forms and causes of laughter. Do these portrayals point to a greater "truth," as Bakhtin would say?

Essay Topic 2

Define the term "carnivalesque" as Bakhtin uses it. Then, demonstrate this definition by applying it to at least two of the episodes, characters, or scenes which take place in Rabelais' novel. What does the carnivalesque demonstrate about the nature of folk culture? What role does humor play in the carnivalesque?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role that herbalists, druggists, and physicians occupied in Renaissance France, and how Bakhtin incorporates them into his study of the marketplace in Rabelais' novel. How does Bakhtin relate the material body to physicians and medicine? How does Rabelais portray bodily ailments, physicians, heath, life, death, and birth?

(see the answer keys)

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