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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 does standing upright do for man in "The Big Toe"?
(a) Distorts his vision with unnatural ideas.
(b) Lets him see things clearer.
(c) Raises his head to the heavens.
(d) Hides his anus.

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

3. What did Breton call Bataille?
(a) A incremental writing whore.
(b) A dubious genius.
(c) A prophet.
(d) An excremental philosopher.

4. What does the title of "The Solar Anus" refer to?
(a) The source of all matter.
(b) The regeneration of the universe in stars that eat planets.
(c) The blinding effect of seeing a girl's anus.
(d) The passage out of purgatory.

5. What two stances did Bataille combine?
(a) Sacrilege and holiness of religion.
(b) Elevation and desecration of man.
(c) Fulfillment and hollowing of man.
(d) Merging and independence of men and women.

Short Answer Questions

1. When did Bataille and his mother abandon his father?

2. What form does Bataille take after being a boy in "[Dream]"?

3. How did Bataille rebel against his father?

4. What critique does Bataille make in "The Critique of the Foundations of Hegelian Dialectic"?

5. Who introduced Bataille to surrealism?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does self-mutilation in "Sacrificial Mutilation and the Severed Ear of Vincent Van Gogh" relate to Bataille's description of body parts in other essays.

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

4. Describe the importance of myth in Bataille's writing and thinking.

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

6. What was Bataille's relationship with Andrea Breton?

7. Describe Bataille's religion in childhood.

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

9. What are the terrifying images in "[Dream]"?

10. How was Bataille's first book received?

(see the answer keys)

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