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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 become lazy.
(c) He may die of stress.
(d) He may be the victim of crime.

2. Which character says that "Loss and gain are brothers twain"?
(a) Pahom's wife.
(b) Pahom.
(c) The local landowner.
(d) Pahom's sister-in-law.

3. In which situation might someone "grease your palm"?
(a) If you were judging a contest they were in.
(b) If you were getting ready to do manual labor.
(c) If you were asking to have them predict your future.
(d) If you were trying to do something you had never done before.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When the younger sister is "piqued," what is she feeling?

2. How far does Pahom walk in order to get to the new settlement?

3. What bothers Pahom the most about the stripping of bark from his trees?

4. What problem does the new steward create for the local peasants?

5. What does Pahom do when the court rules against him?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. 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?

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

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

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

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

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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