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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. Who is the man in the large fox-fur hat?

2. How many sons is it implied that Pahom has?

3. Which word is a synonym for "haggle"?

4. How much land does Pahom agree to buy in the new settlement?

5. What does the dealer tell Pahom he did before bargaining for the Bashkir land?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Pahom and his family arrive in the new settlement beyond the Volga, what does he do first, and what is the result?

2. What deal does the traveling dealer tell Pahom he was able to get on land from the Bashkir?

3. When Pahom asks the Bashkirs for some land, what is their response?

4. What is the price of the land the Bashkirs offer Pahom, and how much land do they offer?

5. What causes Pahom to become dissatisfied with his situation in the new settlement?

6. What deal does Pahom strike to buy some land of his own in the settlement beyond the Volga?

7. What procedure do the Bashkirs outline for marking the land that Pahom claims?

8. What is the response of the Bashkirs to Pahom's arrival?

9. How does the text contrast the life of the Bashkirs with the life of Russian peasants, and what is ironic in this description?

10. After the chief offers Pahom land, how does Pahom respond, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the beginning of Chapter II, the reader learns that "Close to the village there lived a lady, a small landowner, who had an estate of about three hundred acres. She had always lived on good terms with the peasants...." Write an essay in which you explain how this detail comments on Pahom's subsequent difficulties with his community.

Essay Topic 2

Why does Pahom ignore the dream he has about the devil laughing at him? Write an essay in which you give both textual evidence and psychological reasoning to explain why he would ignore a warning like this.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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