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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 made Kolya a bow and arrows?

2. How old is Vera?

3. Who wins the game definitively in Act 1, Part 2?

4. What did Beliayev pursue by climbing a tree?

5. In Act 3, Part 1, whose help does Shpigelski solicit in matching Bolshintsov and Vera?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Shpigelski say that he and Bolshintsov were searching for mushrooms?

2. Describe Natalya's confession to Beliayev in Act 4, Part 3.

3. What makes Rakitin so happy in Act 1, Part 2?

4. Why does Natalya say to Rakitin, "It's wrong to put one's life in chains"? What does she mean?

5. Summarize Anna's advice to Islayev, as discussed in Act 5, Part 1.

6. Describe Natalya's childhood.

7. How does Shpigelski's song at the end of Act 4, Part 1 relate to Natalya's problem with Beliayev and Vera?

8. Why does Natalya insist to Shpigelski that Vera is still a child?

9. In Act 3, Part 3, why does Rakitin beg Islayev and Anna to leave Natalya alone for the moment?

10. Why does Natalya suddenly seem to consider Shpigelski's matchmaking possibility at the end of Act 1, Part 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationship of Katya and Matvey and how it parallels the relationships of other characters.

Essay Topic 2

How are characters' alliances formed and broken during the play? Who normally allies with whom? How do unusual pairings affect events? Explain, defending your position with specific evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the role of soliloquy in the play and how it affects readers' knowledge of events.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 708 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample