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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 was one of the characteristics of the young man in Passive?

2. What is unusual about Anagrams?

3. What is unusual about Litotes?

4. How is the hat described in Retrograde?

5. How is the voice of the man described in Insistence?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the three reactions Barbara Wright received when she told people she was translating a book by Raymond Queneau?

2. How is the story manipulated in "Double Entry?"

3. What is an Alexandrine sonnet, and what are the rhyme scheme and meter used in "Alexandrines?"

4. Explain how Exercises in Style evolved into what it is in the book. Does the author have any future plans for Exercises in Style?

5. Why is the first variation in Section 3 called "Surprises?"

6. What does "Another Subjectivity" reveal about the relationship between the young man and the second man?

7. What is a metaphor, and how does it apply to the variation titled "Metaphorically?"

8. Explain at least three differences between the variations "Past" and "Present."

9. Explain how the words in parentheses are used in the variation "Word Game."

10. What does Wright say is the point of Exercises in Style?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does Raymond Queneau accomplish his goal in exploring the flexibility of language? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Explain why the young man, second man and the young man's friend are not given names in the story. Does this help or hurt the overall story? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Though some of the variations were not translated into English, most of the original variations were able to be translated effectively from French. What does this say about the flexibility of language as it relates to Exercises in Style?

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