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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 brought Gusev away to the Far East?

2. How does Stepanych feel about his life in the months before his death?

3. To whom does Stepanych compare himself during his youthful days of lecturing?

4. What did Nikolai do for Ieronym when he was alive?

5. Vasya and Mashenka's marriage can be described as __________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast Mashenka and Matvei's reaction to Vasya's letter that he is returning home.

2. Dr. Andrei Yefimych states that Ivan Dmitrich is "interested in precisely the right things." What are these right things?

3. Why doesn't Grigoriev believe the magistrate when he says taking nuts will derail the train?

4. As Gusev drifts in and out of sleep, what thoughts interchange in his dreams?

5. Describe how Olga Ivanovna and her friends treat Osip. How does this turn on Olga?

6. Why does Katya leave to the Caucasus?

7. What consumes Bronze so much in life over the last 50 years in "Rothschild's Fiddle"?

8. What does Ivan Velikopolsky in "The Student" see in the present that reminds him of the past? How does he connect the two?

9. What will happen to Vanka at the end of his story?

10. What makes akathists so difficult?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nevyrazimov (Small Fry) and Vanka (Vanka) are just two examples of how the lack of education can stop a person's wishes. The wishes may be moving up in the world or lateral in position but better in conditions. Write an essay on how and why the poor stay poor? Why is it so difficult for the poor to get out of current situations? Is it a lack of hard work? Is it a lack of opportunities? Is it a lack of motivation?

Essay Topic 2

The only thing Varka in "Sleepy" wants is sleep. Eventually she gets it by killing the baby that cries. Anton Chekhov writes, "and a moment later [Varka] is already fast asleep, like the dead..." Why does Chekhov write an ellipsis at the end of Varka's story? What is the reader led to believe?

Essay Topic 3

In "Panikhida", Andreich subconsciously calls his daughter "harlot" during prayer even though he is just reprimanded by the priest. Find at least two other examples of how the subconscious reveals itself. Describe the two instances and explain how the subconscious works in each of the situations.

(see the answer keys)

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