1. What rhetorical stance does the narrator take in describing the banquet at Olsufy Ivanovich’s house, and what is the effect of this stance for the reader?

2. Describe Golyadkin’s entrance into Krestyan Ivanovich’s office.

3. Describe Golyadkin’s shipping trip to Gostiny Dvor.

4. What is Golyadkin’s sense as he chases the stranger?

5. Describe Golyadkin’s arrival at Olsufy Ivanovich’s house.

6. Describe Golyadkin’s entrance into Olsufy Ivanovich’s banquet.

7. What is the literary effect of the scene in Krestyan Ivanovich’s office?

8. What does the narrator’s rhetoric have to do with Golyadkin’s tale in particular?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Would you recommend The Double? For what purposes would you recommend The Double, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

Essay Topic 2

What explanation does Dostoevsky give the reader to explain Golyadkin’s guilt, or the visitation by his Double? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Dostoevsky’s leaving this ambiguous?

Essay Topic 3

Where is the climax of this book? Are there different climaxes? What questions does each climax resolve? What questions does each climax leave unanswered?

(see the answer keys)

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