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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the doctor focus on?
(a) Whether or not the doctor has met Ivan before.
(b) How many other patients are waiting to be seen.
(c) Whether or not Ivan can pay the bill.
(d) Whether the pain is coming from the appendix or the kidney.

2. Who is the first character introduced in Chapter 5?
(a) Ivan's brother-in-law.
(b) Ivan's doctor.
(c) Ivan.
(d) Ivan's wife.

3. What are two of Ivan Ilych's symptoms?
(a) Other bruises appear on his body and the pain in his side.
(b) Nose bleeds and a terrible limp.
(c) The weird taste in his mouth and the pain in his side.
(d) The weird taste in his mouth and his craving for blintzes.

4. Why doesn't Ivan Ilych change his life?
(a) He likes his life as it is.
(b) His wife won't let him change it.
(c) He has no imagination for creating another life.
(d) He doesn't have enough money to change it the way he wants it.

5. When does Ivan Ilych's pain worsen?
(a) In the morning after he wakes up.
(b) In the evening after dinner.
(c) When he is upset.
(d) During the night.

Short Answer Questions

1. Ivan Ilych knows he gave his life to what?

2. After offering his condolences, what does Peter Ivanovich tell Praskovya Fedorovna?

3. What is Ivan Ilych forced to do with his thoughts of death?

4. What major theme of the novel is introduced in Chapter 6?

5. What does Ivan Ilych's wife tell him to do, after he gets back from the doctor?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the major conflict in "The Death of Ivan Ilych?" What is a minor conflict in "The Death of Ivan Ilych?"

2. How does the doctor's professional air parallel Ivan's attitude at work?

3. Describe Gerasim.

4. What is Ivan's feeling of suffocation symbolize in Chapter 12?

5. Is the author's definition of the "good life" the same as that of Ivan and his wife? Support your answer.

6. How does the opium affect Ivan?

7. How is Ivan's sense of power juxtaposed in Chapter 2?

8. Examine the irony in Chapter 8.

9. At the moment Ivan admits to himself that he is dying, how does he feel toward his family?

10. Examine the author's other main theme of this story.

(see the answer keys)

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