AP French French: Literary & Historical Contexts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Marcel Proust's monumental seven-volume novel is titled 'À la recherche du temps perdu.' What English title is it most commonly known by?
- In Search of Lost Time
- Remembrance of Things Past
- Both A and B are used (Correct answer)
- The Way Things Were
Correct answer: Both A and B are used
Proust's masterwork is published in English under both 'Remembrance of Things Past' (older Moncrieff translation) and 'In Search of Lost Time' (modern translations).
Question 2: Which period in French history (1940-1944) refers to the German Occupation of France during World War II, a common literary and historical reference?
- La Belle Époque
- L'Occupation (Correct answer)
- La Résistance
- Le Régime de Vichy
Correct answer: L'Occupation
L'Occupation (1940-1944) refers to the period of Nazi German control over France, which profoundly shaped French literature, memory, and identity.
Question 3: Simone de Beauvoir's 'Le Deuxième Sexe' (1949) is a foundational text for which intellectual and social movement?
- Le socialisme marxiste
- Le féminisme (Correct answer)
- L'existentialisme pur
- Le colonialisme
Correct answer: Le féminisme
Le Deuxième Sexe is a cornerstone feminist text arguing that women are not born but made ('On ne naît pas femme, on le devient'), founding modern feminist theory.
Question 4: The Académie française, founded in 1635, primarily serves which function relevant to the French language?
- Former des diplomates français
- Réglementer et protéger la langue française (Correct answer)
- Publier des manuels scolaires officiels
- Administrer les examens nationaux
Correct answer: Réglementer et protéger la langue française
The Académie française is the official body responsible for matters relating to the French language, including producing the authoritative French dictionary.
Question 5: Which term describes the period roughly from 1871 to 1914 in France, characterized by prosperity, technological innovation, and artistic flourishing?
- L'Ancien Régime
- La Belle Époque (Correct answer)
- Le Second Empire
- La Troisième République naissante
Correct answer: La Belle Époque
La Belle Époque ('The Beautiful Era') is fondly remembered as a time of peace, prosperity, and cultural blossoming in France before World War I.
Question 6: In francophone African literature, which Cameroonian author wrote 'Une vie de boy' (1956), depicting colonial life through the diary of a houseboy?
- Mongo Beti
- Ferdinand Oyono (Correct answer)
- Sembène Ousmane
- Ahmadou Kourouma
Correct answer: Ferdinand Oyono
Ferdinand Oyono wrote 'Une vie de boy,' a sharp critique of French colonialism told through the naive yet revealing observations of a young African servant.
Question 7: The theatrical movement Nouveau Théâtre (Theatre of the Absurd) in post-WWII France included which playwright who wrote 'En attendant Godot'?
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Samuel Beckett (Correct answer)
- Eugène Ionesco
- Jean Anouilh
Correct answer: Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett, an Irish-French playwright, wrote 'En attendant Godot' (Waiting for Godot), a landmark of absurdist theatre premiered in Paris in 1953.
AP French French: Literary & Historical Contexts 2
Marcel Proust's monumental seven-volume novel is titled 'À la recherche du temps perdu.' What English title is it most commonly known by?