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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 is the world divided according to the grand inquisitor?

2. What does the inquisitor say people will destroy?

3. According to the grand inquisitor, what is the church's work founded on?

4. Who will finish the new Tower of Babel?

5. What does the inquisitor say will happen to the new Tower of Babel?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the grand inquisitor think people will follow the church?

2. Why does Jesus deserve to be burned at the stake, according to the grand inquisitor?

3. Why does the grand inquisitor say have Jesus followers left him?

4. What does the grand inquisitor add to the first question when he restates it to the prisoner?

5. How does the grand inquisitor justify lying to people about Jesus and religion?

6. Why does the grand inquisitor value the weak?

7. What do the people believe the clergy is doing for them?

8. What is it about the grand inquisitor Alyosha can't believe?

9. What was the second temptation put to Jesus?

10. What similarity is drawn about Catholics and Masons?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does the grand inquisitor believe in the prisoner's guilt or is he arresting him for another reason? What are the reasons the grand inquisitor might arrest a prisoner for? Does the grand inquisitor need to guard his motives for arresting prisoners? Why and how might he guard them?

Essay Topic 2

Why does Alyosha disbelieve the grand inquisitor's character? What does Alyosha believe about the church? What do Alyosha's reactions to Ivan's story reveal about him? When the brother's part what is Alyosha thinking or feeling?

Essay Topic 3

Why did the author choose to set the story in Seville of the Inquisition as opposed to another time and place? What is significant about this setting? How does the setting come into play in the plot of Ivan's narrative? Where else could he have set the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 940 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample