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. Why does Ivan Ilych try to replace thoughts of death?

2. How does Ivan Ilych's wife react to each child's loss?

3. What profession is Ivan Ilych?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss how Ivan's memories of the past make him feel.

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

3. How does the author see Ivan's life and why?

4. When does Ivan's suffering begin to subside?

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

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

7. Why does Ivan fall into a profound depression?

8. How does Gerasim view death?

9. How does the opium affect Ivan?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the use of irony in "The Death of Ivan Ilych." How is irony used in novel? Does Tolstoy use one kind of irony more than another?

Essay Topic 2

What role does religion play in Ivan's dying and death? Support your answer. Does Ivan welcome religion as a comfort while he is dying? Does Ivan scorn religion because he blames God for his death? Does Ivan go along with religious rituals to please his wife as he's gone along throughout his life doing things to please others?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the major themes ("We die as we live" or "What constitutes a good life?") and explain what is meant by that theme. How does Tolstoy convey this theme throughout the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample