Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Download Sociology in Our Times 9th Edition Diana Test Bank all chapters
Download Sociology in Our Times 9th Edition Diana Test Bank all chapters
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-9th-
edition-kendall-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-10th-
edition-kendall-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-
canadian-7th-edition-murray-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-
canadian-6th-edition-murray-test-bank/
Sociology in Our Times The Essentials 11th Edition
Kendall Test Bank
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-the-
essentials-11th-edition-kendall-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-the-
essentials-10th-edition-kendall-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/sociology-in-our-times-the-
essentials-8th-edition-kendall-test-bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/religion-matters-what-sociology-
teaches-us-about-religion-in-our-world-1st-edition-mirola-test-
bank/
https://testbankfan.com/product/social-problems-in-a-diverse-
society-6th-edition-diana-kendall-test-bank/
Chapter 7
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define social stratification and distinguish among three major systems of stratification.
7. Identify the characteristics of the U.S. poor based on age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
8. Compare and contrast functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives on social
inequality.
1. __________ is the sociological term for the hierarchical arrangement of large social
groups based on the control of basic resources.
a. Bureaucracy
b. Ethnocentrism
c. Social stratification
d. Social layering
2. Which of these statements is not generally considered part of the American Dream?
3. Sociologist Max Weber’s term __________ refers to the extent to which individuals have
access to important societal resources such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and
health care.
a. life chances
b. cultural opportunity
c. social stratification
d. social prospects
207
Class and Stratification in the United States
4. According to the text, one of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification
is their degree of __________.
a. authenticity
b. fairness
c. flexibility
d. visibility
5. The sociological term for the movement of individuals or groups from one level in a
stratification system to another is __________.
a. life chances
b. stratification
c. social mobility
d. meritocracy
6. __________ mobility is the social movement experienced by family members from one
generation to the next.
a. Intergenerational
b. Structural
c. Intragenerational
d. Exchange
7. When Carlos’s grandfather migrated to the United States, he had completed six years of
schooling and was an agricultural worker in California. Carlos’s father completed high
school and worked for twenty years as a clerk in a large state agency. Through the efforts
of his father and grandfather, Carlos was able to graduate from college and medical
school, and he now has a thriving medical practice in southern California. Carlos’s family
exemplifies __________ mobility.
a. intragenerational
b. exchange
c. intergenerational
d. structural
8. __________ mobility refers to the social movement of individuals within their own lifetime.
a. Intergenerational
b. Structural
c. Intragenerational
d. Exchange
208
Chapter 7
9. Camryn started her career as a high-tech factory worker and through increased
experience and taking specialized courses in her field became an entrepreneur, starting
her own highly successful business. Camryn’s advancement is an example of
__________ mobility.
a. exchange
b. intergenerational
c. structural
d. intragenerational
10. One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is their degree of
flexibility. In a closed system of stratification __________.
11. __________ is an extreme form of stratification in which some people are owned by
others. It is a closed system in which people are treated as property and have little or no
control over their lives.
a. League
b. Slavery
c. Class
d. Caste
a. Slavery was defined by law and custom prior to the Revolutionary War.
b. Being a slave was a lifelong and inherited status.
c. Some slaves were able to challenge the system through acts of resistance and
sabotage.
d. Slavery in the U.S. is a thing of the past and no longer an issue.
13. The U.S. State Department estimates that about __________ foreigners are brought to
the U.S. and enslaved annually.
a. 2,000
b. 9,000
c. 11,000
d. 17,000
209
Class and Stratification in the United States
14. Which of these characteristics is not shared by caste systems and slavery?
16. A difference between the caste system in India and the caste system in South Africa is
that in India caste was based in part on __________.
a. religious identification
b. racial classification
c. occupation
d. wealth
17. A difference between the caste system in India and the caste system in South Africa is
that in South Africa caste was based largely on __________.
a. religious identification
b. racial classification
c. occupation
d. wealth
18. Until the 1990s, the white South Africans controlled the government, the police, and the
military by enforcing __________, the term used in South Africa for “the separation of the
races."
a. alienation
b. apartheid
c. stratification
d. classification
19. In a caste system, people are allowed to marry only within their own group. This is
termed __________.
a. endogamous
210
Chapter 7
b. exogamous
c. polygamous
d. homogamous
21. The open stratification system based on the ownership and control of resources, as well
as the type of work people do is termed __________.
a. caste
b. slavery
c. estate
d. class
23. __________ occurs when people experience a gain or loss in position and/or income that
does not produce a change in their place in the class structure.
a. Horizontal mobility
b. Situational mobility
c. Vertical mobility
d. Structural mobility
24. A factory worker is promoted to the position of foreman in the factory. She receives a
small increase in pay. This person has experienced __________ mobility.
a. situational
b. vertical
c. horizontal
d. structural
211
Class and Stratification in the United States
25. __________ occurs when people experience movement either up or down the class
structure.
a. Lateral mobility
b. Vertical mobility
c. Situational mobility
d. Horizontal mobility
26. Becky's mother is an architect and her father is a college professor. Becky left home at
age 16 to live with her boyfriend. When their relationship ended, Becky no longer
communicated with her parents and did not return to high school. After working briefly at
a fast-food restaurant, Becky resorted to asking passersby at a local shopping area for
money. Becky's story illustrates the concept of __________.
a. vertical mobility
b. horizontal mobility
c. structural mobility
d. collateral mobility
27. Both Karl Marx and Max Weber identified ___________ as an important determinant of
social inequality and social change.
a. religion
b. class
c. gender
d. race
28. Marx used the term __________ for those who own the means of production—the land
and capital necessary for factories and mines.
a. entrepreneurs
b. proletariat
c. rentiers
d. bourgeoisie
29. Marx used the term __________ to refer to those who must sell their labor to the owners
in order to earn enough money to survive.
a. proletariat
b. rentiers
c. bourgeoisie
d. entrepreneurs
30. Sociologist Karl Marx believed that the workers are exploited as capitalists maximize
212
Chapter 7
their profit by paying the workers less than the resale values of what they produce. Marx
believed that this resulted in a feeling of powerlessness and estrangement that he called
__________.
a. anomie
b. alienation
c. stratification
d. verstehen
31. Marx used the term __________ for the feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from
other people and from oneself that he suggested resulted from continually being
exploited.
a. accommodation
b. meritocracy
c. assimilation
d. alienation
32. According to Marx, the capitalist class maintains its position at the top of the class
structure by control of the society’s __________, which is composed of the government,
schools, churches, and other social institutions.
a. substructure
b. superstructure
c. ecostructure
d. infrastructure
33. Marx described workers as alienated for a variety of reasons. Which of these is not one
of the causes of alienation among workers?
a. Workers are alienated from the goods they produce because they use their
creativity and labor to produce them but do not own them.
b. Workers are alienated from their work because they are forced to do it for
survival.
c. Workers are alienated from other workers who threaten to strike for better
conditions, causing other workers to risk losing their jobs.
d. Workers are alienated from themselves because their activities are not their own.
34. Marx predicted that when workers realized that capitalists were the source of their
oppression, they would overthrow the capitalists and take over the government, creating
a(n) __________ society.
a. class
b. caste
c. egalitarian
d. stratified
213
Class and Stratification in the United States
35. Which of these is not an explanation offered by Dahrendorf for why workers have not
overthrown capitalism as Marx had predicted?
36. Marx’s theory had important insights into capitalist societies; for example
37. While Marx defined class in purely economic terms, sociologist __________ developed a
multidimensional approach to social stratification that reflects the interplay among wealth,
prestige, and power.
a. Karl Marx
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Max Weber
38. While Marx defined class in purely economic terms, Max Weber developed a
multidimensional approach to social stratification that reflects the interplay among wealth,
prestige, and __________.
a. income
b. power
c. occupation
d. race/ethnicity
39. __________ is the value of all of a person’s or family’s economic assets, including
income, personal property, and income-producing property.
a. Power
b. Wealth
c. Prestige
d. Class
214
Chapter 7
40. Which of these is not one of the dimensions that Weber used to define one’s social
class?
a. wealth
b. income
c. race/ethnicity
d. power
41. Sociologist Max Weber placed categories of people who have a similar level of wealth
and income in the same class. He referred to the privileged commercial class of wealthy
bankers, ship owners, professionals, and merchants who possess similar financial
resources as __________.
a. entrepreneurs
b. rentiers
c. independents
d. consumers
42. Weber used the term __________ for the category of wealthy individuals who live off
their investments and do not have to work.
a. entrepreneurs
b. rentiers
c. independents
d. consumers
43. Of the two categories of people who work for wages, Weber called the white-collar
workers, public officials, managers, and professionals the __________.
a. entrepreneurial class
b. working class
c. upper class
d. middle class
44. Weber called the class consisting of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers the
__________.
a. entrepreneurial class
b. working class
c. upper class
d. middle class
45. Weber’s dimension that helped to determine one’s class, that consists of the respect or
215
Class and Stratification in the United States
a. wealth
b. power
c. status
d. prestige
46. According to sociologist Max Weber’s system of stratification, __________ is the ability of
people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others.
a. wealth
b. power
c. status
d. prestige
47. Sociologists often use the term __________ to refer to a classification that reflects a
combination of factors such as income, occupation, and education.
a. power status
b. socioeconomic status
c. prestige status
d. wealth status
48. The model of the American class system based on the work of __________ is based on
three elements: education, occupation of family head, and family income.
a. C. Wright Mills
b. Karl Marx
c. Max Weber
d. George Simmel
49. According to the social class model developed by Gilbert and Kahl, and based on the
theory of Weber, the upper (Capitalist) class of the U.S. includes about __________ of
the population.
a. 1 percent
b. 3 percent
c. 8 percent
d. 12 percent
50. In the model of American social classes based on Weber’s theory, the __________ is
made up of prominent families which have held great wealth for several generations.
a. lower-upper
216
Chapter 7
b. new money
c. upper-upper
d. upper middle
51. In the social class model developed by Gilbert and Kahl, members of the __________
have earned most of their money during their own lifetime. This class includes
entrepreneurs, presidents of major corporations, sports or entertainment celebrities, and
top-level professionals.
a. middle-upper class
b. upper-upper class
c. upper-middle class
d. lower-upper class
52. In Gilbert and Kahl’s model of American social class, the upper-middle class is comprised
of highly educated professionals such as physicians, attorneys, stockbrokers, or
corporate managers which make up about __________ of the population.
a. 3 percent
b. 8 percent
c. 14 percent
d. 30 percent
53. According to the social class model developed by Gilbert and Kahl, a combination of
three factors qualifies people for the __________ class: university degrees, authority and
independence on the job, and high income.
a. upper-upper
b. middle-middle
c. lower-middle
d. upper-middle
54. Occupations such as medical technicians, teachers, and nurses pertain to the
__________ that makes up an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. population.
a. middle-class
b. upper class
c. upper-upper class
d. upper-middle class
217
Class and Stratification in the United States
a. upper-middle class
b. working class
c. middle class
d. working poor
57. About 20 percent of the U.S. population lives from just above to just below the poverty
line. They typically hold unskilled jobs, seasonal migrant jobs in agriculture, lower-paid
factory and service jobs, and are termed the __________.
a. working class
b. underclass
c. middle class
d. working poor
58. Social critic and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich demonstrated that people in the
__________ use strategies like help from relatives and continually changing residences
in order to survive.
a. working class
b. underclass
c. middle class
d. working poor
59. Working single mothers and their children and African Americans are overrepresented
among the __________.
a. middle class
b. working poor
c. upper class
d. working class
218
Chapter 7
b. is set by the federal government, but individual states may adopt a higher rate.
c. is suggested by the federal government, but individual states are free to adopt
one that is higher or lower.
d. is set on a state-by-state basis with no involvement of the federal government.
61. The term __________ refers to those who are poor, seldom employed, and experience
long term deprivation.
a. working class
b. underclass
c. middle class
d. working poor
62. About __________ of the United States population is included in the underclass.
a. 1 to 2 percent
b. 3 to 5 percent
c. 8 to 10 percent
d. 15 percent
63. Contemporary Marxian (or conflict) theorists examine class in terms of __________.
64. When analyzing social class __________ are most likely to consider that degree of
control that workers have over the decision-making process and their ability to plan and
implement their own work.
a. Postmodern theorists
b. Functionalist theorists
c. Symbolic interactionist theorists
d. Conflict theorists
65. Which of these factors has not been identified as part of the criteria for determining one’s
social class in the contemporary Marxian model of Erik Wright?
219
Class and Stratification in the United States
66. Which of these is not one of the four classes that make up Wright’s contemporary
Marxian model of social class?
a. capitalist class
b. managerial class
c. small-business class
d. middle class
67. According to Forbes magazine, the richest people in the world are Mexican entrepreneur
Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft Corporation), and investor Warren
Buffet. In Wright’s Marxian model these men would be members of the __________
class.
a. managerial
b. capitalist
c. small-business
d. working
68. Of the richest 20 people in the world, how many are women?
a. 2
b. 4
c. 6
d. 8
69. In Wright's Marxian model, persons who have substantial control over production and
over workers, but do not participate in key corporate decisions such as how to invest
profit are the __________.
a. capitalist class
b. small-business class
c. working class
d. managerial class
70. In the Marxian model of Erik Wright, business owners and craftspeople that may hire a
small number of employees but largely do their own work would be considered
__________ class.
a. small-business
b. capitalist
c. working
d. managerial
220
Chapter 7
a. small-business class
b. capitalist class
c. working class
d. managerial class
72. Skilled blue-collar workers, which include electricians, plumbers, and carpenters, and
unskilled blue-collar workers which include janitors and gardeners are all members of the
__________ according to the Marxian model of class.
a. working
b. managerial
c. small-business
d. capitalist
73. __________ is the term for economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income
transfers (government aid), and ownership of property.
a. Wealth
b. Prestige
c. Power
d. Income
74. In 2009, the wealthiest 20 percent of households in the U.S. received approximately
__________ percent of the total income pie.
a. 25
b. 50
c. 75
d. 90
75. In 2009, the poorest 20 percent of households in the U.S. received approximately
__________ of the total income pie.
a. 4 percent
b. 9 percent
c. 12 percent
d. 17 percent
76. According to Gilbert, in 2009 the top 5 percent of households in the U.S. received more
221
Class and Stratification in the United States
than 20 percent of all income—an amount greater than that received by the bottom
__________ of all households.
a. 25 percent
b. 40 percent
c. 65 percent
d. 75 percent
77. In 1979, the richest 1 percent of Americans were taking in about 9 percent of the total
income. By 2007, the wealthiest 1 percent were taking in __________ of the nation’s total
income.
a. 5 percent
b. 11 percent
c. 23 percent
d. 45 percent
78. The term __________ include(s) property such as buildings, land, farms, houses,
factories, and cars, as well as other assets such as bank accounts, corporate stocks,
bonds, and insurance policies.
a. income
b. benefits
c. wealth
d. endowments
80. Which of these statements regarding health characteristics of poor people in the United
States is not accurate?
222
Chapter 7
81. For many of the working poor, medical insurance is out of the question. In 2010,
approximately __________ of people in the United States were without health insurance
coverage.
a. 1 percent
b. 7 percent
c. 16 percent
d. 25 percent
82. Of all age groups, persons aged __________ are the most likely to be uninsured.
a. under 18
b. 18 to 34
c. 35 to 64
d. 65 and over
83. The Department of Agriculture uses the term __________ for people whose access to
adequate food is limited by lack of money and other resources.
a. food insecure
b. hunger
c. malnutrition
d. impoverished
84. __________ theorists view education as the “elevator” to social mobility. They see
education as providing all students with opportunities, and argue that students’ abilities
are now more important than their class, race, or gender in determining success.
a. Postmodern
b. Conflict
c. Functionalist
d. Symbolic interactionist
85. __________ theorists stress that schools are agencies for perpetuating social inequality
because parents with limited income are not able to provide the same educational
opportunities for their children as are families with greater financial resources.
a. Conflict
b. Symbolic interactionist
c. Postmodern
d. Functionalist
86. Today, great disparities exist in the distribution of educational resources. Because
223
Class and Stratification in the United States
funding for education comes primarily from __________, school districts in wealthy
suburban areas generally pay higher teachers’ salaries, have newer buildings, and
provide state-of-the-art equipment.
87. The U.S. Social Security Administration has established an official poverty line. The
poverty line is computed by
a. 2 percent
b. 8 percent
c. 11 percent
d. 15 percent
89. __________ poverty refers to the condition in which people do not have the means to
secure the most basic necessities of life.
a. Absolute
b. Relative
c. Official
d. Subjective
90. __________ is the most likely to have life-threatening consequences, such as when a
homeless person freezes to death on a park bench.
a. Subjective poverty
b. Relative poverty
c. Absolute poverty
d. Official poverty
91. __________ poverty exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are
still unable to maintain an average standard of living.
224
Chapter 7
a. Absolute
b. Relative
c. Official
d. Objective
a. 0 – 18 years
b. 18 – 34 years
c. 35 – 64 years
d. over age 65
93. Which age group (of all races) has the highest percentage living in poverty
a. 0 – 18 years
b. 18 – 34 years
c. 35 – 64 years
d. over age 65
94. About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women. In 2010, single-parent families
headed by women had a __________ poverty rate as compared with a 15.8 percent rate
for married couple, two-parent families.
a. 17 percent
b. 21 percent
c. 36 percent
d. 45 percent
95. In the late 1970s, sociologist Diana Pearce coined the term __________to refer to the
trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in
poverty.
96. Which of these racial-ethnic groups has the highest rate of poverty?
a. Whites
b. African-Americans
c. Asian-Americans
d. Hispanics
225
Class and Stratification in the United States
97. Social inequality and poverty have both economic and structural sources. According to
your text, in the U.S. a great deal of poverty is due to __________.
98. Corporations have been disinvesting in the United States, displacing millions of people
from their jobs. Economists refer to this displacement as the __________ of America.
a. deinstitutionalization
b. deindustrialization
c. disengagement
d. abandonment
99. Computers and other technologies perform a great deal of work today, reducing the need
for workers with special expertise. As a result, high-paying positions have been replaced
with low-paying positions. This process has been termed __________.
a. deinstitutionalization
b. deindustrialization
c. disengagement
d. deskilling
100. From the perspective of __________, social inequality is not only inevitable; it is an
essential part of any healthy society.
a. functionalism
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interactionism
d. differential association
TRUE-FALSE SECTION
1. A person’s ability to succeed and position in the class structure is determined largely by
the stratification system of the society.
226
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
obéir, musculairement, à toutes les sollicitations de son esprit.
Mes fantaisies devaient manquer d’agrément pour un spectateur, car
elles avaient un champ d’exercice trop vaste. Les fantaisies d’Altano
seraient superbes à voir, étant seulement musculaires. Elles formeraient un
ensemble harmonieux, le spleen leur donnant ce ragoût d’exagération,
d’inquiétude délirante qui ne produit chez moi qu’un absurde dérèglement.
—A l’encontre des miens, les gestes d’Altano, excités par le spleen,
dessineraient une ligne artistique. Pour atteindre à ce résultat, je m’exprime
en trop de langues. C’est comme si un polyglotte se mettait à chanter une
poésie qui serait déjà folle par le sens et dont chaque mot appartiendrait à
un idiome différent.
Pour que la folie soit intéressante, il faut qu’elle tourne dans un petit
cercle. Les gambades, les culbutes et les sauts périlleux d’Altano
formeraient peut-être une ode merveilleuse.
Samedi, 17 août.
Dimanche, 25 août.
Lundi, 2 septembre.
Clotilde a grand tort de dormir devant moi. Les instants de son sommeil
me dégoûtent d’elle au plus haut point. Je lui pardonne ses colères, ses
rancunes, ses caprices les moins fondés, mais je ne peux lui pardonner son
sommeil. L’aspect de ce sommeil imbécile me fait trop cruellement sentir à
quelle chair ma chair est liée.
Clotilde dort la bouche ouverte, et toute sa face prend alors une
expression de stupidité vraiment bestiale.—Quoi! Clotilde! pas un rêve? pas
la plus légère ombre de cauchemar? Ta vie est-elle à ce point blanche de
toute souillure que ton sommeil puisse avoir la sérénité des linges séchant
sur les prairies?
Et, ce soir, tu parais dormir de façon plus calme encore que de coutume.
La vache dort ainsi dans son étable, mais quelle bucolique ce noble repos
inspire, à qui sait bien voir les images d’herbe humide qui passent dans le
fond des yeux clos!—Au lieu que l’on imagine mal, que l’on n’imagine pas,
fut-ce le plus habile des poètes composant un quatrain sur ton sommeil.
Réveille-toi! réveille-toi vite! ou je vais employer, pour te donner un
songe, des moyens pernicieux!—Ah! pense, ma chère! quelle serait ta
stupéfaction, si, tout à coup, dans ce sommeil vulgairement paisible, un rêve
te surprenait! le rêve de mourir... d’être morte!... et si tu te réveillais,
soudain, de l’autre côté de la vie, près d’un fleuve huileux, bordé de grands
cyprès!... Une barque est là qui semble t’attendre... trois vieilles dames y
filent la quenouille... le nocher te demande une obole... que tu n’as pas!...
Quelle stupéfaction pour toi, Clotilde, et, pour moi, ah! quel soulagement!
Mercredi, 4 septembre.
Mardi, 10 septembre.
Jeudi, 12 septembre.
Vendredi, 13 septembre.
Jeudi, 26 septembre.
«Je me demande, dit Ted Williams, ce que sont devenus les personnages
de la comédie italienne?»
J’ai passé à mes amis le goût violent que j’ai pour l’entourage de
Colombine, d’Arlequin et de Pierrot. Après quelques pipes, nous causons
volontiers de ces chères figures qui nous semblent plus réelles, l’opium
aidant, que les passants des rues. A ces moments, Clotilde est exaspérée.
Son amour de la précision souffre de nous voir rêver.
«Certainement, dit Ted Williams qui tournait au dessus de la lampe une
superbe boulette dorée, ils ne sont pas morts. Ils ont trop bien vécu pour
mourir.
—Ils doivent être dans une maison de retraite, dit Zanko, dans une
maison de retraite, au milieu d’un grand bois.
—Pourtant, dis-je, Pierrot est mort. Un soir, ayant fait un quatrain
sublime, où il avait mis le meilleur de son génie, il ne trouva personne qui
voulût l’entendre. Alors il se poussa un grand poignard dans le cœur, et sa
face était encore plus pâle après qu’avant.
—C’est très triste, dit Poussière, qui ne sent jamais si l’on plaisante ou si
l’on parle sérieusement. Quel âge avait-il?
—On ne sait pas, répondis-je; il cachait son âge, comme les jolies
femmes, et puis, il se fardait beaucoup.
—Et Colombine? demanda Lanthelme.
—Colombine? dit Williams, mais, c’est de notoriété publique!
Colombine devint courtisane à Paris, et connut tous les désagréments de ce
métier. Elle reçut dans son lit des vieillards calamiteux, et des usuriers, et
des adolescents maladroits, et des paralytiques, et des va-nu-pieds, et des
bossus...
—Ça porte bonheur, dit Bichon.
—Maintenant, elle est à l’hôpital, pour des raisons que vous pouvez
comprendre.
—Oh! la pauvre fille! dit Poussière.
—Et Arlequin?» demandai-je.
Williams rassembla ses souvenirs:
«Je crois avoir entendu dire que le bel Arlequin était tout à fait
déconsidéré. On ne lui rend pas son salut. Les uns affirment qu’il a triché au
jeu, les autres qu’il est allé faire la guerre en Italie. Or, l’Italie, vous le
savez, a la forme d’une botte et, comme Arlequin est fort insolent, cette
botte, il la reçut dans le cul, après quoi il s’enfuit honteusement, car il est
très couard. Je pense qu’il ne se réhabilitera jamais.
—A propos! dit Lanthelme, vous a-t-on raconté la petite aventure du
docteur Bolonais?—Non!—Eh bien, voici:
«Ce bon docteur venait d’accoucher la fille de l’Herboriste, et il revenait
par la route, à petits pas, dans le beau clair de lune de pantomime, heureux
et l’âme légère.
«Son âme était très légère, car, en l’honneur de l’enfant si récemment
mis au monde, il avait bu plus d’un coup de vin, du meilleur, de sorte qu’il
zigzaguait un peu et que son bonnet pointu lui tombait sur l’oreille, et que
sa grande robe d’azur, semée d’étoiles d’or, devenait le jouet du vent.
«C’était, disais-je, par un beau clair de lune; le ciel cendré faisait plaisir
à voir; les collines étaient bleues; la route, où des ombres se dessinaient
crûment, avait le ton blafard du visage de Pierrot, et le petit lac, où toute
fille-mère jure qu’elle se noiera si son amant ne l’épouse, brillait comme le
miroir des sylphides.
«Or, le docteur Bolonais atteignit sa demeure et, poussant la grille,
pénétra dans son potager. Cette entrée, coupa court à des causeries. La
pimprenelle et la haute asperge à baies rouges, et la barbe de bouc, et toutes
les salades, et l’endive tout comme l’estragon, et le petit cerfeuil avec
l’artichaut, et les betteraves aussi, et les tomates encore pâles, et les grands
choux prétentieux, et les melons, espoirs du bon docteur, murmurèrent:
«Fixe! voilà le patron!»
«Mais le patron n’en avait cure et, entre les rosiers et les buis taillés en
boule, devant les géraniums et le peuple comestible, au pied de sa maison
que la lune tendait de blanc, le docteur Bolonais, tenant entre ses doigts les
coins de sa robe, et après avoir posé son bonnet en éteignoir sur la pointe
d’un tuteur, se mit à chanter d’une voix stentoréenne, au risque d’éveiller
tous les voisins, des chansons d’une scandaleuse indécence que je n’oserais
vous répéter.
—Et les légumes, dit Williams, que faisaient-ils?
—Les légumes? ils regardaient cette scène, profondément ébahis.—Je
vous donne l’histoire, telle que me l’a contée Mezzetin. Elle risque de faire
perdre au docteur toute sa clientèle bien pensante.
—Je ne comprends pas, interrompit Clotilde, en me regardant d’un air
désagréable, quel plaisir Lanthelme peut trouver à inventer des stupidités
pareilles! Lui et toi, vous avez la manie de parler pour ne rien dire. C’est
très agaçant.
—Oui, murmura Lanthelme d’une voix douce, Clotilde n’aime que les
discours qui lui sont adressés directement; elle n’a aucun goût pour les
divagations.
—Ce soir, répondis-je, Clotilde n’a de goût pour rien: elle est de
mauvaise humeur. Ne lui parlez pas, cher ami, elle vous accablerait
d’injures et je serais forcé de la battre.»
Clotilde se leva, donna un coup de pied à mon pauvre Tchéragan et alla
se coucher, gardant sur son visage un air tout à la fois digne et offusqué.
Cela me promet, pour demain, une journée agréable.
Samedi, 5 octobre.
Oui, je crois que mourir par l’esprit, est la seule guérison efficace du
spleen. C’est aussi le seul moyen de voler la vie, de se sentir un peu seul,
dans la foule des tracas, des remords, des mauvaises illusions et des peines
inutiles qui viennent chaque matin frapper à notre porte... Mais, quelle est la
meilleure façon d’employer ce remède?
Mourir par l’esprit?
Comment mourir par l’esprit?
Dormir ne vaut rien, à cause des rêves, personnes terribles qui entrent
dans la cervelle sans être invitées. Je l’accorde, on se détruit en dormant,
mais les rêves vous ressuscitent, volens nolens. Et quelle chose excédante
que de vivre, fût-ce le temps d’un songe, sous des espèces antipathiques! Je
rêve le moins possible, et les rêves, se sentant surveillés et comprenant (car
ils sont malins, les bougres!) qu’il n’y aurait aucun plaisir à tirer de moi,
s’éloignent, vont ailleurs, chez le concierge de mon immeuble, chez la dame
hydropique du second, dans la cervelle de Clotilde... et alors, le concierge
se réveille en sursaut, et la dame hydropique beugle, et Clotilde pousse des
cris, tout en dormant au fond de la ruelle ou sur les nattes.—Me voyez-vous
poussant des cris sous le prétexte que je me suis perdu dans les carrefours
du sommeil?—J’en mourrais de honte!—Non,—dormir ne vaut rien.
Lanthelme préconisait jadis les alcools. Je ne saurais en faire autant. Ne
demandez rien aux alcools, ils vous trahiraient.—L’alcool est un baladin qui
amuse par des jeux que l’on ne saurait diriger. Il est un hypnotiseur déloyal
qui allège notre souffrance de façon louche. Il nous laisse dans une
convalescence incertaine... et puis, la guérison est trop courte. On n’a pas
senti le temps passer. On se retrouve, sous la table, baisant cette même
froide bouche que l’on voulait fuir.
A l’avis de Zanko, partisan des solutions nettes, si l’on veut tuer son
esprit, il n’y a qu’un moyen: mourir pour tout de bon. C’est là une bien vive
imprudence! Voyons! supposez que les partisans de la métempsycose aient
deviné justement les secrets du destin: on renaîtrait chat ou insecte... Il
paraît inutile de hâter ce destin.—Renaître dans la peau d’un chat
spleenétique! être une araignée mécontente! une baleine affamée d’idéal!
une hirondelle pessimiste!—songez-y donc!
Ou bien, si la volonté personnelle s’annihile, au jour de la mort, il est
possible que Perséphone nous dirigera, précisément, vers les régions
desquelles nous tendions de plus à nous éloigner. Privé de cet amour de l’art
qui te faisait fuir le laid, tu renaîtrais, entouré de choses laides, dans le plus
laid des paysages, près d’une femme laide, monstrueusement; et toi, que
l’activité requerrait peu, tu renaîtrais, sitôt ton dernier soupir exhalé, sous
les rayures d’un zèbre ou la fourrure d’un écureuil.—Les passions que l’on
ne ressent pas, s’accumulent au fond de nous-même et c’est peut-être dans
leurs bras que le vieux Caron nous fera tomber. Enfin la Nature, qui tient les
ficelles, n’ayant jamais laissé passer une occasion de nous torturer, mettra
en notre esprit, je le gage, comme un souvenir d’une existence antérieure,
pour empoisonner le goût des brises dans notre nouvelle vie...
J’ai longtemps habité sous de vastes portiques...
Ne vous tuez donc point par haine du spleen et de l’odieux «au jour le
jour» du siècle présent; vous renaîtriez concierge, et, par aventure,
concierge à l’âme insatisfaite!
Vivez plutôt!
Et, croyez-moi, pour mourir par l’esprit, il n’est qu’un moyen: l’exil...
l’exil physique du voyage, qui vous crée, parfois, une âme nouvelle, devant
un océan, une forêt, un désert nouveaux, ou l’exil spirituel de l’opium, qui
vous crée toujours une âme heureuse, sur les nattes fraîches, et lui donne en
pâture des rêves plaisants.
Mercredi, 9 octobre.
Jeudi, 17 octobre.
J’ai eu tout à fait pitié de Lanthelme, hier soir. Vers dix heures, il est
entré dans mon atelier, se plaignant du froid et de la pluie. J’étais seul; il
venait me demander quelques pipes. Nous avons causé jusqu’au jour.
Décidément, le mauvais temps lui convient mal. Il était triste, triste à hurler.
Vous ne sauriez croire quelle piteuse figure il présente à ces moments-là!
On dirait que son petit ventre s’alourdit, que ses joues se flétrissent, qu’il
plie sur ses jambes. Il prend l’air honteux de certains objets de rebut qui
s’ennuient dans les coins des greniers. S’il perd en apparence extérieure, il
gagne, du moins, en sincérité.
Figurez-vous, encore une fois, ma fumerie. L’atelier parcouru de
brusques lueurs rouges qui naissent et s’évanouissent suivant les
convulsions du feu de bois. Sur un chevalet, ce détestable paysage que je
n’arrive pas à finir, où un arbre trop vert, dont la perspective est absolument
fausse, fait tache sur un ciel mal venu. Derrière la tenture à demi tirée, les
nattes, la petite lampe, le plateau, la théière, et nous deux, couchés à terre,
vêtus de robes chinoises.
«Vois-tu, disait Lanthelme, (Lanthelme ne me tutoie qu’aux heures de
spleen), vois-tu, de même qu’il y a dans la matière une part incombustible,
il existe, dans le for de l’esprit, un résidu que la vie n’arrive pas à détruire,
une «façon d’être» qui subsiste et qui, proprement, figure notre essence. En
elle se découvre la qualité de «fils de roi», comme tu dis, ou celle de valet.
Mon essence à moi est vile, je suis surtout vil, oui, oui, je suis surtout une
chose vile.»
Il murmurait cela d’une voix lasse, en mots anéantis, bredouillés et qui
coulaient de sa bouche plutôt qu’ils n’étaient dits.
«Un jour, Zanko se fatiguera de voyager, un jour, Ted Williams se
fatiguera de collectionner des papillons; chacun finit par avoir assez de ce
qu’il fait; il t’arrivera de ne plus supporter ton inaction, il m’arrivera de ne
plus supporter mon abaissement et de vouloir reprendre place...»
Il secoua la tête.
«Reprendre place!... comme si l’on pouvait!»
Il se plaignit jusqu’au matin avec ces mêmes phrases lentes, bourbeuses,
presque pas infléchies, n’interrompant sa lamentation que pour me parler
d’opium.
«Et crois-tu, sérieusement, que Zanko soit heureux? Dans toute cette
agitation qui fait sa vie, a-t-il un instant de vrai bonheur? Courir de l’un à
l’autre pôle, est-ce un sûr moyen de fuir l’ennui?—La dernière pipe m’a
paru trop cuite, mon cher, elle était même un peu brûlée.—Et moi? J’avoue
que je suis un carrefour de vices et que mes vices m’ont procuré de
l’agrément, mais ces distractions, qui me mèneront un jour en
correctionnelle, crois-tu qu’elles m’évitent le spleen?—Donne-moi une
tasse de thé, j’ai la gorge sèche.—J’ai su jouir de la vie mieux qu’un autre.
Je m’adapte à tous les plaisirs. Je change de sincérité, suivant le lit où je
couche.—Oui, ma sincérité est une chemise de nuit. Je suis l’homme-
putain. Je suis un homme en carte comme sont les filles du trottoir. Je fais
signe à la volupté qui passe et je l’emmène avec moi. Je suis l’homme-
putain.»
Et Lanthelme se mit à pleurer, à la façon d’une vieille putain dont le fard
se serait écaillé mal à propos.
Jeudi, 31 octobre.