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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. Whom does Bataille refer to as untouchables in "Psychological Structure of Fascism"?
(a) The workers.
(b) The impoverished.
(c) The rich.
(d) The sovereign.

2. What does Bataille compare roots to, in "The Language of Flowers"?
(a) Human bodies.
(b) Corruption.
(c) Visible leaves.
(d) Death.

3. What flower is Marquis de Sade plucking petals off, at the end of "The Language of Flowers"?
(a) A daisy.
(b) A rose.
(c) A carnation.
(d) A lily.

4. What does Bataille feel about the rats in "[Dream]"?
(a) The must be cleared out.
(b) They must be fed to snakes.
(c) They must be cleaned.
(d) They must be killed.

5. In whose hands does Bataille describe conspicuous consumption as a tool?
(a) The middle class.
(b) The rich.
(c) The intelligentsia.
(d) The poor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What strategy does Surrealism use for presenting images?

2. How would you describe the images Bataille presents?

3. What are the rats doing in "[Dream]"?

4. How does Bataille describe the mandrake root?

5. How do philosophers use natural forms, in "The Language of Flowers"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you characterize Bataille's thoughts on society and economy?

2. Describe the paradox at the heart of "Materialism".

3. What was Bataille's involvement with "Acephale"?

4. What type of essay is "Formless"?

5. Describe Bataille's involvement with the Popular Front.

6. What does Bataille say about 'freaks' in "The Deviations of Nature"?

7. How does the mouth in "Mouth" compare with the eyeball in ''The Eye'?

8. What does Bataille say about surrealism in "The 'Old Mole' and the Prefix Sur in the Words Surhomme [Superman] and Surrealist"?

9. What is expressed in the language of flowers in "The Language of Flowers"?

10. How does the notion of parody apply to the sun in "The Solar Anus"?

(see the answer keys)

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