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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what ways are the thinker and the artist alike?
(a) Both thinker and artist have commitment and become themselves in their work.
(b) Both have a tendency to reject expressionism.
(c) Both have total commitment to success.
(d) Both have a desire to influence the minds of others.

2. What were the consequences of Sisyphus putting Death in chains?
(a) Pluto took Medea hostage.
(b) Death took a terrible revenge.
(c) People partied continuously because Death never visited them.
(d) Pluto's empire became deserted and silent.

3. Which philosopher claims that anxiety is at the source of everything?
(a) St. Augustine.
(b) Sartre.
(c) Heidegger.
(d) Aristotle.

4. Who was Adrienne Lecouvreur?
(a) A French actress.
(b) Voltaire's mistress.
(c) A French composer of operetta.
(d) A French philosopher.

5. What assertions are always false?
(a) That being is false and nothingness is inevitable.
(b) That humans are wise and invincible.
(c) That everything is true and that everything is false.
(d) That everything is invisible and nothing is true.

6. According to Camus, what is important about the idea that actions have consequences?
(a) It is the principle behind all systems of morality.
(b) It is a basic principle of child rearing.
(c) It is a basic principle in what is known as 'brain-washing'.
(d) It is the basis of the legal system in Muslim countries.

7. What has been the focus of don Juan's existence?
(a) Avoiding conflict.
(b) Absurd escapades.
(c) Self-actualization.
(d) Short-lived joys.

8. Once, how were the condemned spared the sight of the scaffold?
(a) The condemned person was blindfolded.
(b) The condemned person walked backwards, with two priests assisting.
(c) The execution chamber was never lit.
(d) Priests held a little painted screens in front of the condemned person's face.

9. What is the hero's great fear following his transformation?
(a) His boss' anger.
(b) That his girlfriend will find out.
(c) His mother's tears.
(d) His father's anger.

10. Who is the hero of Metamorphosis?
(a) Samsa.
(b) Samson.
(c) Joseph K.
(d) Michael K.

11. What is the chief question pursued in THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV?
(a) Sibling rivalry in the Russian middle class.
(b) Conflict over the emancipation of the Russian serfs.
(c) The existence of God.
(d) The validity of the Russian church.

12. How does Kafka express the absurd?
(a) Through representations of everyday life.
(b) Through the logical.
(c) Through farce that is close to sentimentality.
(d) Through tragedy.

13. What is a consequence of love?
(a) The stronger the love, the less absurd it is.
(b) Marriage and children.
(c) It is impossible to assess because every relationship is different.
(d) The stronger the love, the stronger the absurdity.

14. Who is the protagonist in The Trial?
(a) Joseph K.
(b) K. M. Joseph.
(c) Oscar W.
(d) Michael K.

15. What argument does Camus dismiss as 'a matter of profound indifference'?
(a) Whether or not the Bible is literally true.
(b) The absurd dilemma.
(c) The ontological argument.
(d) Whether or not the earth revolves around the sun.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Sisyphus' attitude to the gods?

2. Why is it necessary to read a Kafka work twice?

3. What is Camus' view concerning the idea that the artist can be detached from his work?

4. What factors ought to underpin discussion of the meaning of life?

5. Who liberated Death?

(see the answer keys)

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