View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To what type of person is Camus drawn as an artist?
(a) The powerful minority in society who need to be enlightened.
(b) The uncomplicated Berbers of North Africa.
(c) Leftist intellectuals because they hold the key to progress.
(d) The common people who endure burdens and humiliation.

2. What significant thing concerning Socrates does Camus refer to?
(a) He said that the unexamined life is not worth living.
(b) He said that to the gods, humans are like flies to wanton boys.
(c) He said that what he did not know he did not claim to know.
(d) He said that money is the root of all evil.

3. What is the contrast between the historical and artistic spirits, according to Camus?
(a) History is a necessary record of the past, while art is a mere bagatelle.
(b) History aims to educate, art to expand consciousness.
(c) History can be manipulated, but art never can.
(d) History's aim is tyranny, while the artist's aim is freedom.

4. In this essay, the Minotaur is used to represent which human experience?
(a) Passion.
(b) Boredom.
(c) Power.
(d) Bewilderment.

5. What is the alternative title for The Minotaur?
(a) The Stop in Oran.
(b) A Stop in Oran.
(c) The Stoop in Oran.
(d) A Setup in Oran.

Short Answer Questions

1. What restores calm to the fight audience after the near-riot?

2. What symbol does Camus associate with oppression?

3. Camus describes a film in a handbill using words like 'sumptuous', 'staggering', 'amazing' and 'tremendous'. This is an example of which literary device?

4. What is different about Tipasa now?

5. What is meant by 'obscurantism'?

Short Essay Questions

1. What problems does Camus see in modern philosophy?

2. What technique does Camus use to convey the impression that Tipasa is a peaceful and happy place?

3. What is peculiar about the built environment of Oran, according to Camus?

4. Explain the attraction the desert has for thinking human beings.

5. What is ironic and unexpected about Camus' description of the way the Algerian people enjoy summer?

6. Comment on the title of the essay 'Helen's Exile'.

7. Does Camus see himself as a romantic?

8. What must modern man do if he is to recapture the mindset of Ancient Greece and be truly civilized?

9. What is the overall impression the reader has of Oran and its people?

10. Of what is Camus speaking when he criticizes 'idealism of the worst kind' (p.188 of the Penguin edition)?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,027 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample