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 power does Father Sergius discover he has?

2. Why is it urgent for Vasili and Nikita and Mukhorty to reach their destination in the snow storm?

3. Who tries to convince the travelers to rest?

4. What was Pozdnyshev's justification for killing his wife?

5. What role does Pozdnyshev's wife balk at?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the setting for "Kreutzer Sonata"?

2. Why does Father Sergius ask to be reassigned to a hermitage?

3. What does Murad ask Prince Vorontsov for after he surrenders?

4. Describe Pozdnyshev's marriage.

5. What are some possible morals for "Master and Man"?

6. What gift did Father Sergius discover he had, and what did it do for him?

7. Why does Murad want to fight Shamil?

8. What is the event that precipitates Pozdnyshev's murder of his wife?

9. Why did Hadji Murad set out for Russia?

10. Describe Pozdnyshev's relation with his children.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the state of civilization in the Russia of these stories? Are they modern, agricultural, primitive? What kinds of conflicts are taking place over the state of culture or progress? How do those conflicts reveal 'Russian culture'?

Essay Topic 2

Based on evidence from three stories of your choice, describe Tolstoy's view of religion and spirituality. What kind of God does Tolstoy invoke in his stories? What religion informs this divinity?

Essay Topic 3

What epiphanies do Tolstoy's characters have, and what do they learn from them? Is Tolstoy consistent in the kinds of things his characters learn, or is he using his characters to elicit feelings or epiphanies in the reader?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 624 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample