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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 is General Brizzhalov's first reaction to Cherviakov?

2. Why is business bad for Bronze in "Rothschild's Fiddle"?

3. In whom does Ieronym see his friend Nikolai?

4. What does Yegor dislike about the village?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes akathists so difficult?

2. Describe Yegor and Pelageya's relationship. How do they interact? How do they feel about one another?

3. Why does Katya leave to the Caucasus?

4. Why does the black monk make Andrei Kovrin feel good?

5. What does the Tartar think of Vassily and the Explainer? Who does he respect more and why?

6. How does Cherviakov's wife not help his situation with the General?

7. Compare Nikolai Stepanych's (A Boring Story) public name to the real person.

8. How does real life affect Varka's sleep at night?

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

10. What happens to officials who deal with people's suffering, such as judges, policemen, and doctors? How does this affect the innocent?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare how the soldiers and the sailor on the boat in "Gusev" handle a long boat ride back home to Russia. How do they each deal with long days without enough food and water, entertainment, and occupation? What does each resort do in order to try to keep their sanity?

Essay Topic 2

In "The House with the Mezzanine", Lida is called "remarkable" by her mother and sister. Write and essay of what it means to be "remarkable"? What does it take to be "remarkable"? By whose standards is someone "remarkable"? How "remarkable" is Lida? Do her mother and sister really value Lida as a "remarkable" person?

Essay Topic 3

How does familiarity help those in grieving moments? For example, the woman who might have reminded Ieronym of Nikolai (Easter Night), Vanka (Vanka) writing to his grandfather, or Varka (Sleepy Night) dreaming of her late parents. Why is familiarity consoling? Feel free to use other examples as well.

(see the answer keys)

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