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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 is indicated when melancholy arises in the human heart?

2. How does Kafka express the absurd?

3. Which art and science have close affinity?

4. What has Camus to say about 'great revolutions'?

5. What is meant by 'savoir-faire'?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Camus, what must we take into consideration when reading the works of Franz Kafka?

2. Why does Camus call Prometheus the 'first of modern conquerors'?

3. Why is the fame of a writer likely to endure and that of an actor not to do so?

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

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

6. In what ways is Sisyphus a rebel?

7. What does Nietzsche mean when he says 'Great problems are in the street'?

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

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

10. Why is Sisyphus completely appropriate as the absurd hero?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Camus has chosen what he terms 'extreme examples' in his essay on Absurd Creation? Consider the function that anecdotes and examples perform in explanation, citing more than one context. Do Camus' examples make it easier to follow his argument? Are the examples appropriate or might others have been used? Suggest one alternative and justify your choice.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you define philosophy and discuss its significance. You might like to refer to the way certain philosophers have influenced politics, science and society in general. Comment on the extent to which the study and/or discussion of philosophy enriches life and broadens human understanding.

Essay Topic 3

Comment on the implications of what Camus calls the 'hiatus between what we fancy we know and what we really know'. You might like to focus on the famous example of Galileo and the Inquisition or cite other instances in which there was a gap between what humans thought they knew and what actually was the case ('flat' earth or the 'impossibility of stones falling from the sky'). As well as examining the implications of this hiatus, consider solutions to the problem.

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