View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of homes do the Bashkirs live in?

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

3. How do the Bashkirs react when Pahom asks for land?

4. What advantage does Pahom see to owning land in the new settlement?

5. How do the Bashkirs react to Pahom's arrival?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

How is Pahom's fate related to his class and circumstances? How is it related to his individual character? Write an essay that take a position on what factor is most responsible for his fate, and why.

Essay Topic 3

When Pahom decides to take his neighbors to court, he thinks "I cannot go on overlooking it, or they will destroy all I have." Pahom likely means this sincerely; what undermines this statement for the reader, however? Write an essay in which you both explain at least two ways in which this statement proves to be ironic.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 942 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample