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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. Whom does Natalya accuse of being "mysterious"?

2. What game are the characters playing in Act 1, Part 1?

3. In Act 1, Part 1, Rakitin states that Natalya is like what kind of animal?

4. What does Natalya primarily want for Kolya?

5. Which name below is the name of one of the suitors in Shpigelski's story in Act 1, Part 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Natalya believe that it's improper for Vera to be in the garden by herself with Beliayev?

2. For what does Natalya ask Rakitin's help in Act 3, Part 1? How does Rakitin respond?

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

4. Summarize Natalya's soliloquy at the end of Act 3, Part 3, regarding her immediately preceding conversation with Beliayev.

5. Describe Beliayev's opinion of writers.

6. Explain what Rakitin means by this line: "What does all this mean? Is it the beginning of the end, or the end itself? [...] Or is it the beginning, perhaps?"

7. Why does Natalya insist in Act 3, Part 2, that Vera imagine her as a sister?

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

9. What does Rakitin think about in his soliloquy in Act 2, Part 2, and what conclusions does he reach?

10. What does Katya think about the possible marriage of Shpigelski and Liza?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how Turgenev uses minor characters for comic relief in the play.

Essay Topic 2

Explain in detail how Natalya's fickleness regarding Bolshintsov and Vera affects the course of events.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Shpigelski's behavior around his patients, particularly the wealthy patients such as Natalya, with his perception of himself, as stated to Liza in Act 4.

(see the answer keys)

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