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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. What does Ivan Ilych admit to himself for the first time after seeing himself in the mirror?

2. What has happened to the main character?

3. What profession is Ivan Ilych?

4. How much will Ivan Ilych's new job pay on moving expenses?

5. When does Ivan Ilych believe his illness began?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is ironic about the opening of Chapter 3 when it states that 1880 is "the hardest year of Ivan's life?"

3. How does the opium affect Ivan?

4. Explain how reactions to Ivan's death by Gerasim and Ivan's son differ from the reactions of all the other characters in Chapter 1.

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

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

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

8. Describe how Ivan is torn in Chapter 9 and what affect this has on him?

9. What is the setting of Chapter 1?

10. How is Ivan characterized in Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the discontinuity between how character's act and what they feel throughout the novel? Why is how they act different than how they feel?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Ivan and Gerasim. What is the relationship and/or purpose of these two characters, specifically, in this novel?

Essay Topic 3

Is Gerasim's being a peasant significant in the novel? Does it affect how he sees the world and how his character develops?

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