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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. During the 1930s, what group does Kristeva say was unhappy with the division that was caused by economic inequality, even if they did not call for radical economic restructuring?

2. In Celine's "Rigadoon," the work of the writer is compared to the patience of what?

3. Whose writings does Kristeva encounter in "the black, romantic rage"?

4. What does Kristeva say Celine's depictions of females all lean toward?

5. Kristeva says illusions give what to hatred?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kristeva say it is rash to ignore any value one might find in the Anti-Semitism in Celine's work?

2. How did Celine seem to feel about the French language and the English language?

3. What does Kristeva say Celine felt was the foundation of human existence?

4. What does Kristeva say about how Celine's novels are realistic?

5. How does Kristeva seem to feel about Celine's Nazism?

6. What reasons does Kristeva give for why Celine agreed with anti-Jew sentiments?

7. Describe Celine's mother type of character.

8. How did Celine use strong women in his works?

9. In what ways that Kristeva points out do Celine's writings differ from Jewish ideas?

10. How does Kristeva say Celine's work represents the division caused by economic inequality?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Kristeva mean when she says abject literature is an unstable category? What qualities does literature have to have to be abject? What is the narrative in abject literature supposed to be like? How does this cause a problem for the writer? How does language cause a problem?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the way phobias relate to the abject in the book. Where does Kristeva say phobias come from? What are people really afraid of? What do phobias seem to represent, with regard to the abject?

Essay Topic 3

Explore Kristeva's use of the concept of sin. How is the concept of sin relevant to the study of the abject? What differences does Kristeva mention in how sin is referred to in the Old Testament and the New Testament? What does she mean when she says sin in the New Testament is a form of "subjectified abjection"?

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