Table of Contents
- Question 74: Sartre's Response to Camus' The Rebel
- Question 75: Australian Aboriginal Texts
- Question 76: 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature
- Question 77: Chronology of Futuristic/Cyberpunk Texts
- Question 78: Montaigne and Bacon on the Essay
- Question 79: Statements on Stolen Generation and Apartheid Literature
Question 74
What is the thrust of Jean Paul Sartre's impassioned response to Camus' The Rebel?
Albert Camus's 1951 essay The Rebel (L'Homme révolté) criticized political revolution and totalitarianism (particularly Stalinism/Marxism). In response, Jean-Paul Sartre, who was sympathetic to Marxism at the time, launched a fierce critique against Camus in the journal Les Temps modernes (1952).
The thrust of Sartre's impassioned rebuttal was that by rejecting revolution, Camus was guilty of a renunciation of historical responsibility and political commitment (engagement). This bitter dispute famously ended their friendship.
Question 75
Which among the following are the Australian Aboriginal texts?
A. Their Eyes were Watching God by Hurston
B. Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
C. My Place by Sally Morgan
D. The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Bond
E. Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The texts written by Indigenous Australian authors detailing Aboriginal experiences are:
- (B) Terra Nullius (2017) by Claire G. Coleman: A speculative fiction novel drawing from Australia's colonial history.
- (C) My Place (1987) by Sally Morgan: A milestone autobiography about her quest to discover her Aboriginal family's past.
- (E) Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) by Doris Pilkington: A true story regarding the Stolen Generation.
Why A and D are wrong: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts/Bond are foundational works of African-American literature, not Australian.
Question 76
Who among the following is the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2021?
The 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Abdulrazak Gurnah, a Tanzanian-born British novelist (author of Paradise and By the Sea), "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee."
Timeline of recent winners listed:
- 2019: Peter Handke (Austria)
- 2020: Louise Glück (United States)
- 2021: Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania/UK)
- 2022: Annie Ernaux (France)
Question 77
Arrange the following in chronological order of the date/year of publication:
A. J.G. Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition
B. Donna Haraway's When Species Meet
C. Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat
D. Francis Fukuyama's End of History
E. William Gibson's Neuromancer
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The correct chronological sequence for these futuristic, cyberpunk, and socio-political texts is:
- (A) The Atrocity Exhibition (1970): J.G. Ballard's avant-garde science fiction.
- (E) Neuromancer (1984): William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel.
- (D) The End of History and the Last Man (1992): Francis Fukuyama's political philosophy book.
- (C) The World Is Flat (2005): Thomas L. Friedman's analysis of globalization.
- (B) When Species Meet (2007): Donna Haraway's ecofeminist/post-humanist text.
Question 78
Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R
Assertion A: Michel de Montaigne established the term 'essay' as a new literary form in his text Essays.
Reason R: Francis Bacon is generally considered as the father of English essays.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below
Assertion (A) is true: French writer Michel de Montaigne pioneered the essay as a literary form with his work Essais (1580), characterizing it with personal reflection and exploratory thought.
Reason (R) is also true: Francis Bacon is widely considered the father of the English essay (published in 1597), introducing a more compact, aphoristic, and objective style.
However, Bacon being the father of the English essay does NOT explain why Montaigne established the term in France. They represent parallel developments, so R does not explain A.
Question 79
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: Doris Pilkington's Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is based on the experiences of the 'Stolen Generation'.
Statement II: Nadine Gordimer's My Son's Story deals with coloured or mixed-race protagonists in the backdrop of apartheid.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Statement I is Correct: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is a true account of three young Aboriginal girls (part of the 'Stolen Generations' forcibly removed by the Australian government) who escaped to walk 1,600 km home.
Statement II is Correct: Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer's 1990 novel My Son's Story centers around Sonny, a coloured (mixed-race) South African schoolteacher turned political activist against apartheid, and the complex dynamics of his family and extramarital affair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus fall out?
Their famous public falling out occurred in 1952 following Camus's publication of The Rebel. Camus rejected radical political revolution and communism due to its violent outcomes. Sartre, a committed Marxist at the time, viciously critiqued Camus for abandoning historical responsibility and political commitment.
What is the 'Stolen Generation' in Australian history?
The Stolen Generations refers to the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were forcibly removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies between the 1910s and 1970s in an effort to assimilate them into white culture.
Who coined the term "Neuromancer" and what does it signify?
William Gibson wrote the novel Neuromancer in 1984. It is widely considered the archetypal novel of the "cyberpunk" genre, heavily featuring hackers, artificial intelligence, and a dystopian high-tech future.
What is the difference between Montaigne's and Bacon's essays?
Michel de Montaigne (French) created the essay form as a highly personal, subjective, and meandering reflection. Francis Bacon (English) adapted the form to be much more objective, concise, aphoristic, and focused on moral and practical advice.
