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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. How do the clerks characterize Golyadkin’s appearance?

2. What does Golyadkin lose on his way home from the banquet?

3. How did Olsufy Ivanovich suffer his disability?

4. What is the narrator’s as he describes Golyadkin’s shopping trip?

5. How does Golyadkin describe himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Golyadkin’s purpose in getting into Olsufy Ivanovich’s banquet?

2. Where does Golyadkin go after leaving Olsufy Ivanovich’s house?

3. What is Krestyan Ivanovich’s opinion of Golyadkin?

4. Describe Golyadkin’s first encounter with his double.

5. Describe the chase the stranger leads Golyadkin on.

6. Describe the action that takes place among the characters at the banquet in the beginning of Chapter 4.

7. What kinds of goods does Golyadkin go shopping for at Nevsky Prospekt?

8. Describe the reader’s introduction to Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin.

9. What is the meaning and significance of Golyadkin’s statement that “it’s not me at all”?

10. What does the scene in Krestyan Ivanovich’s office tell the reader about Golyadkin’s personality?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Make an argument for the genre that best describes The Double. Is it a parody? A satire? A morality tale? A philosophical discourse on uncanniness? A psychological study of madness—or something else. Explain why the term you chose is the better fit than the others.

Essay Topic 2

What are the particular techniques Dostoevsky uses to convey the horror of Golyadkin’s situation? How does he keep the reader’s interest, and preserve the reader’s sense of strangeness in this encounter? What information is provided, and what information is withheld?

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

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