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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. Who contributed to "Documents"?
(a) Literary critics.
(b) Biologists.
(c) Librarians.
(d) Rebel surrealists.

2. What does the other self-mutilator (besides Van Gogh) do in "Sacrificial Mutilation and the Severed Ear of Vincent Van Gogh"?
(a) Drink his own blood.
(b) Put out his eye.
(c) Cut off his hand.
(d) Bite off his finger.

3. Whom does Bataille contrast to the sovereign in "Psychological Structure of Fascism"?
(a) The ignoble workers.
(b) The Jews.
(c) The middle class merchant.
(d) The aristocrats.

4. Who introduced Bataille to surrealism?
(a) Andre Breton.
(b) Joan Miro.
(c) Michael Leiris.
(d) Marcel Duchamp.

5. How does Bataille describe his thinking in "Popular Front in the Street"?
(a) He said he could not escape from the logic of fascism.
(b) He said he had an indomitable democratic streak.
(c) He said he had a paradoxical fascist tendency.
(d) He said he worshiped the masses.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Breton call Bataille?

2. When did Bataille deny his faith?

3. What principles does Bataille say men associate with height in "The Big Toe"?

4. What is the benefit Bataille sees to having more than one meaning in his work?

5. What does Bataille say about monsters in "The Deviations of Nature"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What claim did Bataille make in "The Lugubrious Game"?

2. How does Bataille describe his role in "The Jesuve"?

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

4. What type of essay is "Formless"?

5. What is Bataille's relationship with Hegel?

6. Describe Bataille's schooling.

7. Describe Bataille's birth and family origins.

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

9. What experience does Bataille elevate in "Rotten Sun"?

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

(see the answer keys)

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