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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What bothers Pahom the most about the stripping of bark from his trees?
(a) He hates the idea of a stranger being on his land.
(b) He hates the idea of trees being wasted in this way.
(c) Whoever did it also let his cows out of their pen.
(d) Whoever did it cut down a whole clump of trees.

2. What does the stranger staying at Pahom's house overnight tell Pahom?
(a) Life in the countryside is difficult but secure.
(b) Life in town is very risky.
(c) The Bashkir are selling land very cheaply.
(d) That people in the new settlement beyond the Volga are making good money.

3. When the younger sister is "piqued," what is she feeling?
(a) Tired.
(b) Angry.
(c) Curious.
(d) Cautious.

4. How far does Pahom walk in order to get to the new settlement?
(a) 300 miles.
(b) 130 miles.
(c) 30 miles.
(d) 3 miles.

5. How many acres does the local landowner have?
(a) 300.
(b) 1,300.
(c) 40.
(d) 13,000.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which character thinks "I'll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power"?

2. What does Pahom's wife say may happen to a man in town?

3. The story opens with two sisters. What does the older sister's husband do for a living?

4. What does the expression "racked his brains" mean?

5. Who calls Pahom's land a "narrow hole"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Pahom's relationship with his community change, and what are two specific pieces of evidence for this change?

2. In Chapter I, what is ironic about the conversation between the two sisters?

3. What sacrifices do Pahom and his family make for the first plot of land that they buy?

4. What prevents the peasants from buying the nearby landowner's land as a group instead of as individuals?

5. In Chapter I, what is ironic about where Pahom is while he listens to his wife and her sister talk?

6. When the devil overhears Pahom's thoughts, what does he vow to do?

7. What sequence of events with Simon follows Pahom's discovery of the stripped trees?

8. Pahom is most angry at the neighbor who has cut down his trees because whoever it was did not just take one or two trees but instead cut down a whole clump of trees. Why does this make Pahom angry, and what is ironic about his anger?

9. What changes the relationship between the woman who owns land near the village and the peasants, and how does the relationship change?

10. In what two ways is Pahom's first decision to buy land different from his later decisions?

(see the answer keys)

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