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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 is Ivan Ilych forced to do with his thoughts of death?
(a) Cry over them incessantly.
(b) Sit there and face them.
(c) Ignore them.
(d) Tell his wife about them.

2. Where did Ivan Ilych find a new job?
(a) In the town he'd been living in all his life.
(b) In Moscow.
(c) In Petersburg.
(d) In the town where his wife's brother lives.

3. Who comes to visit Ivan Ilych in Chapter 5?
(a) Schwartz.
(b) Peter Ivanovich.
(c) His brother-in-law.
(d) Vladimir Ivanich.

4. To what or whom does Peter Ivanovich refuse to yield to?
(a) The prosecution.
(b) Any depressing thoughts.
(c) The bicycle on the left.
(d) Ivan Ilych.

5. Why does Ivan Ilych have difficulty working?
(a) Because the pain is too great.
(b) Because death intrudes his thoughts there, too.
(c) Because he isn't as interested in it as he used to be.
(d) Because he's been away from work for too long.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Peter Ivanovich encounters Ivan Ilych's daughter and fiance, how to they look?

2. What year is it in the novel?

3. What does Ivan Ilych see as "doing his duty?"

4. What profession is Ivan Ilych?

5. What causes Ivan Ilych much distress?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ivan discover about his method of coping in Chapter 6?

2. Name four components of the plot in Chapter 1.

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

4. What sort of world has Ivan left behind? Give 3 examples to support your idea(s).

5. What does Ivan's wife represent to him? Why does Ivan keep sending his wife out of the room?

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

7. Describe how Ivan and others' initial response to his illness are classic examples of the denial stage of dying.

8. How is Ivan characterized in Chapter 3?

9. In Chapter 2, how does Ivan see his life and why does he think this?

10. Explain how Ivan can be said to be in the depression stage of dying in Chapter 10.

(see the answer keys)

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