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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. What has Camus to say about 'great revolutions'?
(a) They never last.
(b) They take us into a sure future.
(c) They are always metaphysical.
(d) They are always metatextual.

2. Which famous Frenchwoman was self-reliant?
(a) Madame La Guillotine.
(b) Madame Bovary.
(c) Madame Roland.
(d) Violetta Valery

3. Who liberated Death?
(a) The god of war.
(b) Eurydice.
(c) The messenger of the gods.
(d) Persephone.

4. How is Oedipus' fate announced?
(a) Supernaturally.
(b) As a result of gossip.
(c) By means of a letter device.
(d) Superbly.

5. What is Camus' view concerning the idea that the artist can be detached from his work?
(a) He believes this is essential in being able to form and utter critique.
(b) He supports the idea.
(c) He believes the idea warrants closer examination.
(d) He believes this idea is outmoded and false.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the legendary Faust remembered for?

2. What is the main idea in the final paragraph of the essay 'The Myth of Sisyphus'?

3. In The Castle, what is significant about the character Amalia?

4. According to Camus, what is important about the idea that actions have consequences?

5. What does Camus suggest happens in bad novels?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways is Sisyphus a rebel?

2. What, for humanity, are the consequences of living in a world stripped of illusion?

3. What is Camus' basic criticism of phenomenology?

4. How does Camus view the novel as an artistic endeavor?

5. What technique of Kafka's does Camus posit as the reason for the unity in that writer's work?

6. How does Camus differ from many other commentators when considering the work of Kafka?

7. What important feature of Dostoevsky's work does Camus explore in the section entitled 'Kirilov'?

8. Why does Camus wonder if an absurd work of art is truly possible?

9. What is Camus' attitude to Galileo?

10. In an absurd universe, are all actions permitted?

(see the answer keys)

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