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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What is a steward?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain what the devil's plan is and how he carries it out. Be sure that you discuss his motives, for the plan as a whole and for its details as well.

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter I, when the sisters are talking, Pahom's wife tells her sister, "We may live roughly, but at least we are free from anxiety. You live in better style than we do, but though you often earn more than you need, you are very likely to lose all you have. You know the proverb, 'Loss and gain are brothers twain.'" Write an essay that explains the meaning of this quote and why, in the context of this story, it is heavily ironic.

Essay Topic 3

What do you think of the relationship between the two sisters? Does it seem healthy? What might be the cause of the older sister trying to make her younger sister feel bad about her life? How does this tie into the theme of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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