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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 sensation does the reader get when Golyadkin says that he keeps to the straight and narrow, and that he despises deviousness?

2. How does Golyadkin Junior annihilate Golyadkin in the office?

3. What is Golyadkin accused of?

4. What is Golyadkin’s sense of what fate has in store for him?

5. On what grounds does Golyadkin condemn lksf?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the letter Golyadkin sends to Golyadkin Junior.

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

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

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

7. What response does Golyadkin get to his letter?

8. What happens after Golyadkin leaves the office at the end of the day?

9. How does Golyadkin Junior insult Golyadkin at the office?

10. How does Golyadkin Junior take advantage of Golyadkin?

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

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 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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