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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 does Ivan Ilych's relationship with his wife affect his work?

2. What galls Ivan Ilych to think?

3. What is the conflict in Chapter 5?

4. Why does Ivan Ilych react to his realization the way he does?

5. Why is this year the hardest year of Ivan Ilych?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the overarching theme of "The Death of Ivan Ilych?"

2. Describe Gerasim.

3. Describe Ivan's realization in Chapter 9.

4. How does the opium affect Ivan?

5. Ivan's realization about himself in Chapter 11prompts him to discover something about himself. What does he discover and how does it affect him?

6. How is Ivan characterized in Chapter 3?

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

8. Examine the irony in Chapter 8.

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

10. Describe the relationship between Ivan and his wife.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Ivan learn from his suffering and death? How does Tolstoy use suffering and death in "The Death of Ivan Ilych?"

Essay Topic 2

Describe the form that foreshadowing takes in "The Death of Ivan Ilych." How is the foreshadowing accomplished? Is the foreshadowing subtle or obvious?

Essay Topic 3

Why would Tolstoy choose "The Death of Ivan Ilych" as the title if he writes about Ivan's life? Is Tolstoy writing about more than just Ivan's physical death in the novel? How so?

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