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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. What was Ani?

2. What was the "Sarmoung"?

3. In which towns did Gurdjieff's family live during his childhood?

4. How did Gurdjieff 's father react when misfortunes befell him?

5. Between what ages did Father Borsh feel females were fully developed?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Gurdjieff happen to see the famous ashokhs of those days?

2. Why did people consider Father Borsh peculiar?

3. Why did Gurdjieff go to Alexandropol?

4. What important discovery did Gurdjieff and Pogossian make in the rubble of the underground passages of the ancient churches near Alexandropol?

5. Describe an ashokh.

6. What was the story of Gilgamesh?

7. Why do Gurdjieff and Pogossian travel to Alexandropol?

8. What did Father Borsh, Gurdjieff's first tutor, think of the experiment in spiritualism using the table?

9. Describe Father Borsh.

10. On their expedition to find the Sarmoung Brotherhood what other precious treasure does Gurdjieff find?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Describe Gurdjieff's theories about translation of languages.

2) Why does Gurdjieff think grammars have harmed contemporary literature?

3) What are some of Gurdjieff's theories about translation of languages and thinking in one language while attempting to speak another?

4) Choose one of the three topics to write about.

Essay Topic 2

1) Describe Abram Yelov: his physical appearance, his peculiarities and his relationship with his parents and friends.

2) What eventually happens to Yelov? How does he become wealthy? How does he lose his fortune? Where does he finally settle?

3) What did Abram Yelov's father do for a living? What did his mother do?

4) Choose one of the three topics and write on it.

Essay Topic 3

1) Describe the situation of the European painter who was so highly praised by a German newspaper. Was he really a great painter? What happened in the story?

2) How did a literary critic cause the suicide of a young couple?

3) Describe the music critic Gurdjieff judges as a phony in the book. Why does Gurdjieff feel the man has no right to be a music critic?

4) Choose one of the three questions and answer in as much detail as possible.

(see the answer keys)

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