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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 is Petrushka’s livery described?

2. Whom does Golyadkin say he complimented recently?

3. What capacity does Golyadkin lose after meeting his double?

4. How does Golyadkin refer to Olsufy Ivanovich?

5. What season does The Double take place in?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Golyadkin’s feelings on leaving Olsufy Ivanovich’s house.

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

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

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

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

7. Describe the chase the stranger leads Golyadkin on.

8. Describe Golyadkin’s carriage journey in Chapter 1.

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

10. Describe the weather into which Golyadkin is expelled from the banquet.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Double is subtitled “A Petersburg Tale”: What makes it particular to St. Petersburg? What can you tell about Petersburg society, from Dostoevsky’ account of Golyadkin’s life and the appearance of his double?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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