View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Nozdroyov tell everyone at the police chief's ball?

2. How have many of Sobakevitch's souls died?

3. How do the homes of the Plyushkin's serfs look?

4. What does Selifan do for Tchitchikov?

5. Who does the girl Tchitchikov runs into with his chaise turn out to be?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Plyushkin so miserable?

2. Describe Madame Korobotcha's house.

3. How do the people at the police captain's house treat Tchitchikov at the end of Part 1, Chapter 7?

4. How does the narrator describe Nozdroyov's character?

5. Why does Manilov decide to sell his dead souls to Tchitchikov?

6. Describe Plyushkin's estate.

7. Why does Petrushka smell bad?

8. How does Tchitchikov feel when looking at his list of acquired souls?

9. What does Sobakevitch say about Plyushkin?

10. How does Sobakevitch speak about the people with whom Tchitchikov has become friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of having a biased narrator with a personality and opinions of his own? Does the narrator skew the reader's view of characters and events in the book? How is the book different once the biased narrator is gone?

Essay Topic 2

What is significant about the houses of the people that Tchitchikov visits? Why do you think the author gives such vivid descriptions of the houses and their furnishings? How do the homes reflect their owners? Use examples from the text to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

How are Russian women portrayed in the novel? What is the significance of this portrayal? How are the women used to satirize Russian life? How do the women drive the novel's plot? Cite several examples from the book to support your case.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 651 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample