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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. How do Pahom's neighbors retaliate when he takes them to court?
(a) They get him kicked out of the commune.
(b) They burn down his barn.
(c) They let their animals trespass on his land on purpose.
(d) They press charges against him in court.

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

3. How many acres does Pahom buy in his first land purchase?
(a) 1,300.
(b) 300.
(c) 13,000.
(d) 40.

4. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?
(a) He will pay for half of the land up front and half within two years.
(b) He will pay less for the land because he can pay for it all in advance.
(c) He will work for her until the land is paid for.
(d) He will pay for the land over the next ten years, one-tenth at a time.

5. Where is Pahom when his wife and her sister are talking?
(a) Bringing in loads of wood.
(b) Resting in his cot.
(c) Working in the field.
(d) Lying on the stove.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What does the older sister brag about?

4. When Pahom feels "aggrieved," what is he feeling?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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