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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. What does the defense attorney tell the jurors they are in charge of deciding in addition to the truth of Mitya's story?

2. What does Kirillovich begin quoting from during Mitya's trial in Book 12, Chapter 14?

3. What does the defense attorney suggest Fyodor was not in terms of a father during his speech in Mitya's trial?

4. Where does Mitya claim he had been carrying the money he had received from Katarina?

5. Who goes to the witness stand in Mitya's trial after Alyosha?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Alyosha and Kolya's first interaction described?

2. How does Mitya react just after he is arrested for the death of his father?

3. What does Mitya agree to being guilty of at the beginning of his trial?

4. How does the defense attorney describe Fyodor in Part 4, Book 12, Chapter 13?

5. Describe Mitya's plea to the court in Part 4, Book 12, Chapter 14.

6. How do Pyotr and Madame Khokhalakov act towards each other when they first meet?

7. What is the nature of Alyosha and Grushenka's discussion in Part 4, Book 11, Chapter 1?

8. How is Kolya described when he is first seen in Part 4, Book 10, Chapter 1?

9. What points of contention does the defense lawyer introduce in Part 4, Book 12, Chapter 11?

10. How does the audience react while the jurors go into deliberation in Mitya's trial?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the main themes presented in the book is the dynamic of the father-son relationship. Part 1.) In what way is the father-son relationship portrayed abnormally in the book? Part 2.) What might the author be saying about the importance of being a good father based on the outcome of Fyodor's fate in the book? Part 3.) What reason does the author have for portraying a more realistic and normal father-son dynamic in Ilyusha and the Captain?

Essay Topic 2

The role of religion is one that is very pronounced throughout much of the book. Part 1.) How does Alysosha represent religious values in the book? Part 2.) What about the author's depiction of Zosima brings religion to the forefront in the book? Part 3.) In what way could you argue that the author presented his own voice about religion by including Zosima's teachings and speeches in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the character, Smerdyakov. In what ways did the author set up Smerdyakov as an unstable character?

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