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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 does Pahom's wife say may happen to a man in town?
(a) He may be tempted by the devil.
(b) He may die of stress.
(c) He may be the victim of crime.
(d) He may become lazy.

2. When Pahom feels "aggrieved," what is he feeling?
(a) As if someone has harmed him.
(b) Greedy.
(c) So angry he cannot think clearly.
(d) Sad for something he has lost.

3. What does the older sister brag about?
(a) Her comfortable life.
(b) Her loyal husband.
(c) Her housekeeping skill.
(d) Her clever children.

4. The story opens with two sisters. What does the older sister's husband do for a living?
(a) He is an innkeeper.
(b) He is a commune leader.
(c) He is a farmer.
(d) He is a tradesman.

5. Who calls Pahom's land a "narrow hole"?
(a) Pahom.
(b) Pahom's sister-in-law.
(c) The stranger who stays overnight at Pahom's house.
(d) Pahom's wife.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Pahom's reaction to the trouble with the steward?

2. Which character thinks that "Busy as we are from childhood tilling Mother Earth, we peasants have no time to let any nonsense settle in our heads"?

3. How do Pahom's neighbors retaliate when he takes them to court?

4. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?

5. How many acres does Pahom buy in his first land purchase?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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