S ECOND S EMESTER F INAL E XAM

Transcription

1 S ECOND S EMESTER F INAL E XAM This exam will test your knowledge of the books and ideas that you have learned in Omnibus II: Church Fathers through the Reformation. You may not use your notes during this evaluation, but you are permitted to use your Bible and any of the books read in the course. The test is divided into three sections: Grammar, Logic and Lateral Thinking. In the Grammar section, you are expected to demonstrate a good grasp of the basic facts of the material you have read. Answer these questions with a sentence or two. In the Logic section, demonstrate that you understand the relationship of ideas within the text of one book. These questions can be answered with a paragraph or two. In the final section, Lateral Thinking, demonstrate your ability to understand the relationship between ideas among different texts. These questions anticipate longer essays (approximately 1,000 words) and demand that you consider the points of similarity and contrast between different authors. Grammar Briefly answer the following questions with one or two sentences. (2 points each) PRIMARY BOOKS 1. In the Inferno what is the river that Dante and Virgil cross over from the Vestibule to Limbo? Who is the ferryman? The river is the Acheron, which appears in Homer and Virgil s poetry. Charon is the ferryman. He appears in Greek and Roman mythology (Inferno, III). 2. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, what sort of king is Uther Pendragon? Uther, like any good British king, is a conqueror. He takes over the throne after his brother s murder, and avenges him, defeating the sons of Vortigern and Hengist in the process. He fulfills the prophetic vision and becomes the Pendragon. He is also an adulterer, falling madly in love with Ygerna, the wife of Gorlois. He uses Merlin s potions to take Gorlois s shape and thus gain access to Ygerna, who has been locked up in a tower by her husband. In the meantime Gorlois is killed in battle by Uther s men. There are obvious parallels to King David here (History of the Kings of Britain, VIII.16 20). 3. In Macbeth what is the importance of what the Porter says? The porter is drunk and acting like Dunsinane s gates are the gates of hell. They might as well be, because within the gates of Dunsinane Macbeth has committed regicide (the murder of a king) (Macbeth, 2.3). 4. What two items did the Green Knight have in his hands when he entered the court of Camelot? The Green Knight was carrying a bundle of holly and an ugly and monstrous axe (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Stanza 10). 5. In the Inferno, why is the leopard a good image for lust and youth? Why the lion for pride and manhood? Why the wolf for avarice and age? Leopards are bright and flashy. Their speed will catch the eye, and the leopard (being a cat after all) is mysterious, perhaps even seductive. Lions love to hear themselves roar, and the males have the infamous fluffy mane. Wolves are calculating. They work in packs to bring down their prey, and they prey on the weak. Wolves have that hungry look, especially when they drop their heads low to the ground. These three beasts align with the three main divisions of Hell: incontinence, violence (bestiality) and fraud (Inferno, I.31 59). 6. Why does the Wife of Bath consider herself an authority on marriage? She does because of her extensive personal experience since her first marriage at the age of twelve, she has had five husbands

2 2 O MNIBUS II (Canterbury Tales, Prologue to Wife of Bath s Tale). 7. What does Luther think of Erasmus s treatise On Freewill? Luther thinks that Erasmus s treatise is worthless except in so far as it has made Luther more sure of his own view (On the Bondage of the Will, I). SECONDARY BOOKS 1. In The Return of the King, what is the history of the Paths of the Dead? In earlier days Isildur set a great black stone upon the hill of Erech upon which the King of the Mountains swore allegiance to Isildur. The Men of the Mountains broke their oath and began to worship Sauron and refused to aid Isildur in their war with him. Isildur condemned the Men never to rest until their oath was fulfilled. Their opportunity to make amends would come when Isildur s heir would come to call them from the Stone of Erech (The Return of the King, book V, chap. 2). 2. In Ephesians, how is the church like a body? The church is like a body in that it has various parts that fit together into a unified whole, the parts working in harmony for a particular purpose (4:16). 3. In Henry V, according to Mistress Quickly, why does Falstaff die? Mistress Quickly claims that the King broke Falstaff s heart (Henry V, ). Henry rejected Falstaff when he became king, as he had always planned to do, and this rejection was too much. Ironically, this scene immediately precedes the scene where Henry exposes a nest of traitors within his ranks (Henry V, 2.2). Before Henry unmasks traitors, however, he has been unmasked as a traitor himself. Logic Questions should be answered with a paragraph or two. Answer 3 of the 5 Primary Book questions and 2 of the 4 Secondary Book questions. (10 points each) PRIMARY BOOKS 1. In Inferno, why do the damned in the Vestibule desire to cross the Acheron? In III , Dante implies that the damned lose their fear of Hell and actually desire it. They chose Hell while living, and now they want more of it. Heavenly justice moves them to desire even more pain than they already have. 2. According to The History of the Kings of Britain, how do you think Brutus s Trojan origin will affect his descendants and the history of his nation? Brutus is admired by Pandrasus for his nobility, so we can expect that his descendants will also be noble, both in blood and in their actions. As a conqueror, Brutus does not hesitate to use deceit and trickery, so we should also not be surprised if his progeny will do likewise. Also, we should remember that the story of the Trojan War is one of adultery: Paris stole Helen from her Greek husband. This pattern of marital infidelity and lust is seen throughout Geoffrey s History on the part of these Trojan descendants (Locrinus and Gwendolen, Uther and Ygerna, Mordred and Guinevere, Ethelfrid and his wife) (History of the Kings of Britain, I.11). 3. How does Chaucer s Prologue show hypocrisy in some of the Canterbury pilgrims? He sets a standard of non hypocrisy in two of his characters, who are above reproach, the poor Parson and his brother Plowman, by which other characters can be measured and compared. As he sketches the characters of other pilgrims, we begin to see the gap between their profession or standing in the world and their actual behavior. This obvious gap is set forth in such a way that the reader cannot help but see the hypocrisy, which Chaucer is implicitly lampooning. 4. How does Canto I serve as a prologue to the whole Divine Comedy? How does Canto I tell the story of the whole Comedy? Canto I tells the story of the whole Comedy through condensed images. Dante begins in a dark wood, alluding in one way to Hell. He finds his way and attempts to climb the high mountain (Purgatory), but is driven by the leopard (sins of incontinence), lion (sins of violence/pride), and wolf (sins of fraud).

3 S EMESTER II Final 3 Though Dante does not make it up the mountain in the first canto, he sees the sun (Heaven) glowing beyond the mountain (Inferno, I). 5. What is Erasmus s view of the whole free will/foreknowledge controversy? What does Luther think? Erasmus thinks that it is a peripheral issue that is not necessary for Christians to know or understand. Luther believes that upon foreknowledge rests all the promises of God, including salvation. Free will on the other hand, undermines salvation by suggesting that men can either save themselves or help save themselves. SECONDARY BOOKS 1. In The Return of the King, why do Bilbo and Frodo sail off into the West? Frodo explains to Sam his reason for sailing away. I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them (The Return of the King, book VI, chap. 9). Both Frodo and Bilbo were damaged by being Ring-bearers and can no longer live in the Shire as a result. 2. Considering their histories, how might Saruman and Sauron represent two different types of evil? Saruman became evil over time through selfish ambition. He once was a good wizard and a friend of Gandalf. Sauron, on the other hand, was never good. We never hear of any past in which Sauron was different than he is now. While Saruman might represent one who becomes evil by making poor choices, Sauron symbolizes the very essence of evil. Saruman represents the possibility of our wickedness being more and more manifest. Sauron represents Satan himself (The Two Towers and The Return of the King). 3. How does Richard III use rhetoric to advance his goals? Give two examples. Richard uses rhetoric to create a false impression of his intentions and character. He pretends to be an innocent child, but in private moments plots everyone else s downfall. He also uses a variety of strategies to get himself into various positions of power. Examples could include: His wooing of Lady Anne in Richard III, 1.2; his successful efforts to win the loyalty of various noblemen by pretending to be innocent and Christian; his effort to use Buckingham to win over the London populace to his side (Richard III, 3.7). 4. According to Ephesians, explain the relationship of God s control and human freedom. Are they contradictory? Scripture teaches both that God works all things according to the counsel of His will, and that human beings choose freely. God doesn t force anyone to choose one way or another. Rather, He has planned for human beings to make free decisions. The two teachings are difficult for us to put together, but they are not contradictory. Scripture teaches both and does not contradict itself (Ephesians). Lateral Thinking This essay challenges you to take concepts and ideas learned in one book and see the connections that these ideas have in other works that we have read this year. Write up to a 1,000 word essay for each. Answer 2 of the 4 choices. (15 points each) 1. Bring out the similarities between Bilbo and King Arthur, keeping in mind the importance of origin and family. Initially, it may seem a bit of a stretch that a hobbit of Middle Earth could have anything in common with a king of the Middle Ages. However, both these characters are heavily influenced by where they came from. Bilbo is a Took and a Baggins, and these two bloodlines constantly do battle in The Hobbit. Bilbo sleeps in because he is a Baggins, but he eventually runs out the door to meet up with the dwarves because he is a Took. His Tookishness is most triumphant when he goes down the dark passage to do verbal battle with Smaug. Bilbo is a hobbit, which means that he can creep about quietly if need be, or consume large quantities of breakfast if given the opportunity. These

4 4 O MNIBUS II Adam s sin of eating the fruit demonstrates this. The small action of eating fruit shows that willfully disobeying God leads to death. While all sins are equal in deserving death, it is not right to say all sins are equal in degree. In the Old Testament law, different punishments are prescribed for different sins. How could all sins be equal if the punishments are weighted differently according to the gravity of the sin? In the Inferno, Dante presents this doctrine well. Those who failed to choose or who rejected God are tormented, harassed and fittingly unable to attain life outside of the gates of Hell nor death (which they desire) deeper in Hell. Likewise, those chewed in Satan s jaws, those guilty of the worst possible malicious sin in Dante s imagination, are also dead. They are equal in death, but not equal in degree of death. Some are deeper in sin, some are harder of heart, and all these degrees of sin still bring glory to God. 4. Compare and contrast Henry V s qualities as king with Shakespeare s Julius Caesar or Oedipus. Answers of course will differ depending on the comparison. Some suggested lines of thought follow. For a comparison between Henry and Julius Caesar: Emphasize the way that both Henry and Caesar are conquerors; that both Henry and Caesar have support among the common people. Both of them have a gift for political theater: Caesar makes a big show of refusing the crown when offered to him, and Henry plans and flawlessly executes his moral reformation. Henry differs from Shakespeare s Caesar in crucial respects: He is far more shrewd about the people around him, recognizing and unveiling a conspiracy rather than walking headlong into a conspiracy. He is not superstitious or overconfident, as revealed in his prayers before the battle of Agincourt. Unlike Caesar, who aspires to be king but has to veil his intentions, Henry is king but has to worry about his father s usurpation of the throne from Richard II; Caesar looks for ways to become king, while Henry has to find ways to secure power that he already posqualities also affect his adventures. Later Gandalf explains that Bilbo was meant to find the ring. Arthur, as a Trojan, also was meant to be a conqueror, and he was meant to disappear into obscurity until he should return. Arthur s Trojanness also comes out in his nobility, his fight over a woman, and his drive to establish a kingdom, which all Trojans since Aeneas have been trying to do. Arthur also, as the son of Uther, fulfills the vision his father had of the beam of light stretching its dominion over Gaul (History of the Kings of Britain, VIII.15), and just as his father and uncle before him, he is a mighty warrior. And both Bilbo and Arthur are helped by wizards. 2. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Macbeth, are emotions antithetical to being a man? No. But undisciplined emotions are damaging to a man s ability to fulfill his calling. As we have seen, an obedient man fears God. But an obedient man also loves his neighbor. After everything we have covered, it may sound weird to say, but an obedient man has a duty to have emotions and to have those emotions disciplined. Jesus wept for Jerusalem, for His people because they had hardened their hearts and their capacity to respond to the gospel. Emotions are given to us by God and are therefore part of what it means to be a man. But just like every gift, if it is perverted, the results are de-humanizing. Ultimately, one of the best ways to learn this emotional discipline is to sing the Psalms. In the Psalms, God teaches us how we are to approach him in prayer, and the attitudes that should accompany that prayer. David was not a stoic; and God does not want Christian men to fall to that heresy either. Our standard for emotional expression must be the Word of God. The Psalms provide a good guide for that. 3. Genesis 2:17 tells us that all sin causes death. Does this mean that all sins are equal? Why or why not? (Use Dante s Inferno to indicate what he thought regarding this matter.) All sin does cause death. The smallest act of the will against God is worthy of death.

5 sesses. Henry and Oedipus are both energetic rulers. Oedipus is concerned about the state of Thebes, and relentlessly pursues the truth so that he can deliver Thebes from the plague. He seems more genuinely concerned with his people than Henry, who is more interested in conquering France and diverting the nobles attention than he is in bettering the life of his subjects. Yet Henry, too, has a populist side; he disguises himself and goes among his men on the night before the battle, revealing that he is capable of interacting with common soldiers on their level. S EMESTER II Final 5