Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. With whom does Dolmance perform anal sex in this section?
2. In the beginning of this section, Dolmance recommends Eugenie get what?
3. In this section of the Third Dialogue, Madame explains to Eugenie the importance of being what?
4. Which character masturbates Chevalier first in the Fourth Dialogue?
5. In the Third Dialogue, what function of the human body does Dolmance refuse to discuss?
Short Essay Questions
1. What arrangement does Dolmance create with Chevalier in the Fourth Dialogue?
2. Describe Dolmance's attitudes toward the poor.
3. At the beginning of this section, what argument does Dolmance make regarding virtue?
4. What pattern of sexual arrangements emerges in the Third Dialogue?
5. How does Dolmance decry religion in this section?
6. What is the value of blasphemy to the libertine?
7. What odd and incorrect theories of conception are discussed in the Third Dialogue?
8. How does Madame de Saint-Ange recommend a married woman carry out her infidelity?
9. How is the the sexual passage of this section typical of the writing of The Bedroom Philosophers?
10. What specific instructions does Sade give his readers about emulating characters in To the Libertines?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Much of the trajectory of The Bedroom Philosophers involves the increasingly deviant sexual endeavors of the libertines. Write a three-part essay about this trajectory, discussing the purpose of this evolution:
Part 1) Why do Dolmance, Chevalier and Madame de Saint-Ange plot the seduction of Eugenie? What lessons do they teach her in the early dialogues, and how do these sexual acts connect to the libertine lifestyle? What does Eugenie learn about this worldview? How does she react, and how does she change?
Part 2) At the end of the Fifth Dialogue, the libertines engage in increasingly deviant sexual behavior. Discuss the acts they engage in immediately after the reading of the pamphlet. How does Dolmance justify his vulgarity and extremity? What is the libertine's purpose in being especially disgusting in sexual acts?
Part 3) Discuss the meaning behind the gang-rape and torture of Madame de Mistival. How is this a culmination of the libertines lessons? How has Eugenie changed over the course of the novel? What has she renounces in the proceedings and how does her violation of her own mother serve as a compact with Dolmance's worldview?
Essay Topic 2
The Libertines of The Bedroom Philosophers are all exorbitantly wealthy, and as firm believers in the ascendancy of personal liberties they have little to no sympathy for the poor. Write an essay in three parts on the subject of class relationships in the novel:
Part 1) Why does Dolmance believe that charity and social welfare are meaningless exercises? What deleterious effects do they have in his opinion? What does he think of individuals who support them?
Part 2) Discuss the role of servants like Augusten and Lapierre in the events of the novel. Are these characters presented as fully invested individuals? What is their purpose in the proceedings? Discuss why Augustin is sent out of the room when the pamphlet is read aloud.
Part 3) Discuss the argument in the Fifth Dialogue between Chevalier and Dolmance. What compassionate point does Chevalier raise, and why does he raise it? How does Dolmance shout him down?
Essay Topic 3
In The Bedroom Philosophers, the abstract idea of nature is used as a central justification for libertine philosophy. Write an essay about the use of nature as a guiding principle in the novel. What elements of nature are inspiring to the libertines? Does nature follow a set of moral guidelines? What connection does nature have to the human race? What does the human impulse to hurt and conquer have in common with nature?
|
This section contains 1,186 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
