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. What is the original charge that the man in charge of the investigation will bring against Yakov?

2. When the man in charge of the investigation denies Yakov's request for an attorney, what is Yakov told that he will need?

3. What does the crowd see when the people finally stop running?

4. In order to make Yakov appear like a Hasidic Jew, what does the Deputy Warden refuse to let Yakov do?

5. How much money does the boatman offer to ferry Yakov across the river?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Yakov's attorney, why must the government find a way to prove Yakov's guilt?

2. After Yakov's chains are removed and he is waiting to meet with his new attorney, what is Yakov wondering about?

3. What does Yakov think about as he rides in the carriage to the courthouse?

4. According to the boatman who ferries Yakov across the river, how could all of Russia's problems be solved?

5. As Yakov's hallucinations become regular, what does he have trouble figuring out?

6. Explain Bibikov's theory regarding Zhenia's murder.

7. As Bibikov continues to question Yakov, Bibikov confesses that he is living in fear. Why?

8. When Yakov shares his story regarding why he is being held in prison, why do his cellmates beat him?

9. Why does Yakov suspect that the prosecutor has included the tales of molestation in the indictment?

10. When spring arrives, a visitor comes to the prison to comfort Yakov. Why does the visitor come?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the Nikolai character at the beginning of the book after Yakov saves his life. What is Nikolai's motivation? What drives him? Then, discuss this same character when he provides false testimony when questioned by the police about Yakov. What is Nikolai's motivation then? What is driving him? How do the events that happen between these two personalities change Nikolai's character from someone the reader likes - or perhaps feels sorry for - into a character the reader begins to hate? Who is Nikolai at the end of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Two times in the story before his arrest, Yakov stops to help someone lying hurt on the street. Identify each of these situations. Then, determine what consequences Yakov realized - both positive and negative - from helping these people. Based on the consequences realized, should Yakov have stopped to help or not? Had he not stopped in either instance, how would the story have been impacted? Explain your reasoning.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the warden with the deputy warden.

a. How are the two characters similar in terms of their professional lives? How are they different?

b. How are the two characters similar in their personality characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses? How are they different?

c. Only one of these characters survives the story. Is the deputy warden's death a result of his own doing or a result of dumb luck? Is the warden's survival a result of his own doing or a result of dumb luck? Support your reasoning for both.

d. Looking forward, how might Yakov's incarceration and subsequent trial have affected each of these men as they moved forward with their lives? Would they be similarly affected or not? Explain your answers and your reasoning.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 848 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample