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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. Where does Golyadkin rush off to?

2. What does Golyadkin tell himself about the letter he has written?

3. How does Golyadkin Junior treat Andrey Filippovich?

4. To whom does Golyadkin try to attribute the complications owing to his double?

5. How did the previous day’s events affect Golyadkin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Golyadkin’s explanation for Golyadkin Junior’s existence?

2. What is Golyadkin Junior like when Golyadkin finds him at the office?

3. What profound experience does Golyadkin have in his sleep?

4. How does Golyadkin Junior take advantage of Golyadkin?

5. How have things changed when Golyadkin wakes up in the morning after his drunken night with Golyadkin Junior.

6. Describe what happens when Golyadkin reaches Andrey Filippovich’s house.

7. How does Golyadkin plan to resolve the situation with Golyadkin Junior?

8. What does the narrator say about Golyadkin’s tendency to exacerbate his feelings?

9. What trick does Golyadkin Junior play on Golyadkin when he leaves the coffee house where they have been talking?

10. What is the importance of the letter Golyadkin receives from Klara Olsufyevna?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When is The Double most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?

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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