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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 do when the court rules against him?
(a) He accuses the judges of taking bribes.
(b) He strips someone else's trees in revenge.
(c) He quits the commune in protest.
(d) He tries to appeal the case.

2. Who is the first person that the local landowner offers to sell her land to?
(a) The leader of the commune.
(b) Pahom.
(c) Simon.
(d) The innkeeper.

3. What is Pahom's reaction to the trouble with the steward?
(a) He takes his anger out on his family.
(b) He insists that the family move to a new settlement.
(c) He takes the steward to court.
(d) He refuses to have any more dealings with the man.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In which situation might someone "grease your palm"?

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

4. Which character says that "Loss and gain are brothers twain"?

5. 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"?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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