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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 was the subject of Bataille's first pamphlet?
(a) Praise of his mother.
(b) Criticism of his religion.
(c) Criticism of his father.
(d) Praise of Cathedral Notre Dame des Reims.

2. What form does Bataille take after being a boy in "[Dream]"?
(a) A butcher.
(b) An American gentleman.
(c) A girl.
(d) A priest.

3. When was George Bataille born?
(a) 1902.
(b) 1892.
(c) 1897.
(d) 1899.

4. What were Bataille's feelings for Breton?
(a) Indifference.
(b) Hostility.
(c) Admiration.
(d) Supplication.

5. What characterizes man in "The Eye"?
(a) Horror of eyes and insects.
(b) Longing for purity.
(c) Longing for sacrilege.
(d) Desire for violence and violation.

Short Answer Questions

1. What paradoxical action does Bataille describe in "Materialism"?

2. When did Bataille publish his first pamphlet?

3. Who contributed to "Documents"?

4. What was Bataille afraid of as a child?

5. Whom did the Popular Front join with?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Bataille's schooling.

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

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

5. Describe the importance of the 'cephalus' in Bataille's thinking.

6. What were Bataille's early publications?

7. Explain the title of the essay "The Use Value of D. A. F. de Sade".

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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