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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. How old is Elvov when he visits Ginzburg?

2. What is Ginzburg told about her husband?

3. Who is Alyosha?

4. What does Yaroslavsky do concening Ginzburg?

5. Why is Ginsburg sad on September 1, 1935?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Ginzburg's mother-in-law described and what does she advise Ginzburg?

2. How do the prisoners communicate in Krasin, and what disturbing piece of news does Ginzburg receive in one such communication?

3. Who is Professor Elvov and how does he have bearing on Ginzburg's life?

4. What does a friendly soldier tell Ginzburg on her way back to Butyrki after her trial?

5. Who is Zinaida Abramova and how is she treated at the prison?

6. What is the "Conveyor Belt" interrogation method and how is it used on Ginzburg?

7. Why does Ginzburg think things have been straightened out and what happens to throw her back into the midst of the purge?

8. What does one prisoner do and others follow that breaks up the horror of their situation momentarily?

9. To where is Ginzburg's case referred, and what is significant about that fact?

10. Who is Eugenia Semyonovna Ginzburg and why is she awakened early in the morning on December 1, 1934?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Stalin's regime, in conjunction with the frailties of the Communist system, seek to stamp out even perceived opposition to their control. They fear a popular uprising, similar to the uprising they led years before against Czar Nicholas. And in order to maintain power, and continue to instill fear in their people, they continue to apply weight to the people. Apathetic and disinterested Communists are libeled for not denouncing their lesser fellow citizens.

1. Discuss why totalitarian governments are prone to worry about opposition. Use examples from Journey Into the Whirlwind and your own life to support your response.

2. Discuss the ways in which a government can maintain power by the use of fear. Use examples from Journey Into the Whirlwind and your own life to support your response.

3. Explain how requiring citizens to denounce other citizens created the actual situation that Stalin feared. Use examples from Journey Into the Whirlwind and your own life to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

1. What is foreshadowing? How many incidences of foreshadowing are in Journey Into the Whirlwind? How does foreshadowing contribute to a book's suspense?

2. Discuss an example of foreshadowing in Journey Into the Whirlwind including why you believe it is foreshadowing. Include examples from the book and your own life to illustrate your answer.

3. How do you think Ginzburg reacts to uncertainty in her life? Use examples from Journey Into the Whirlwind and your own life to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 3

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Eugenia Ginzburg.

2. What in Ginzburg's background may have helped her in writing Journey Into the Whirlwind? What may have influenced the way she depicts various people and scenes?

3. Do you think all of the events in a memoir are true? Why or why not? Give examples.

4. How is a memoir affected by memory? Is every memory a person has strictly accurate? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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