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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 does the brown sow run off with?

2. What is the name of the market where the art shop is located?

3. What is the name of the bridge from which Ivan drops the nose?

4. What do the men say will happen to Ivanovich if he refers to himself as the King of Spain?

5. Who does the blond girl marry in this story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Pythagor's social standing?

2. What does Nikiforovich say to Ivanovich in court?

3. How does Ivan dispose of Kovalev's nose?

4. Describe Piskarev's dream about the girl?

5. How does Ivanovich obtain the stack of letters?

6. What was the town of B like before the regiment arrived?

7. What advice did Chartov's professor give him?

8. How do the regiment change the town?

9. Describe the painting Chartkov buys from the art shop.

10. How does Ivan Yakovlevich find Kovalev's nose?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the book's chronological setting.

1. What were the main concerns during the mid 1800s? How does the author express these concerns?

2. How would the author change the book if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 3

The Collected Tales are translated from Russian into English. How much meaning can a book loses through a translation? What aspects of the book do you think would be the most difficult to express in English? How do you think a translator can overcome these difficulties?

(see the answer keys)

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