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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. In "A Piece of Meat," who "offered" a "bloody sacrifice"?

2. What prints did the men in "Dry Rations" follow to get to the spring?

3. What was the narrator sitting by at the opening of "The Snake Charmer"?

4. What did Seva refuse to play cards for? ("On Tick.")

5. In "A Pushover Job," which northern tree did the narrator state that he loved the most?

Short Essay Questions

1. What decision did the men in "Dry Rations" make regarding their food?

2. Why did Merzlakov fake a back injury in "Shock Therapy"?

3. What happened to Grigoriev and Potashnikov after the foreman found out that they were not carpenters?

4. What "piece of meat" did Golubev offer up in sacrifice? ("A Piece of Meat.")

5. What notations did the guards, described in "Prosthetic Appliances", use to show that a convict would not receive hot food and/or bread?

6. What did the extra food give the sectarian the energy to do in "Quiet"?

7. What prosthetics were collected by the guards in "Prosthetic Appliances"?

8. What question did the new arrivals ask of the old convicts in "Major Pugachov's Last Battle"?

9. Who did Gloubev recognize in the hospital as he was recovering from his appendectomy? ("A Piece of Meat.")

10. Why was the Siberian dwarf cedar called a "weatherman" by the narrator?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Given the dehumanizing circumstances that the narrator relayed throughout the text, many instances of true humanity shone through. Discuss three examples where humanity won out over animalistic behavior in the text.

Essay Topic 2

The theme of survival was important in the text. Discuss the different aspects of survival as depicted throughout the text. What were the different aspects of survival? What did it mean to survive? Why were there different understandings of this term?

Essay Topic 3

The harshness of work in the camps was described through the severe actions that convicts would go to to avoid it. Describe three examples where convicts sacrificed themselves, in one way or another, to avoid work in the camps.

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