View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. During what month of the year was Solzhenitsyn sentenced to serve time in Gulag?

2. After lunch, how long were prisoners allowed to rest before returning to work?

3. During what years was the Gulag prison system completely overcrowded?

4. For how long did Solzhenitsyn walk around Russia as a free man before being sent to Gulag?

5. What did prisoners say was the common sentence for doing nothing?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the prisoners of Gulag know that WWII had ended in Russia?

2. How did families typically react when they saw a family member arrested?

3. How did Solzhenitsyn feel about prison during the first few days he spends there?

4. What is the typical reaction most prisoners had during the first 24 hours after their arrest and imprisonment in Gulag?

5. Who were the organs?

6. What reason does Solzhenitsyn give for the mass arrests that were sweeping through Russia during the time of Gulag's height?

7. What freedoms did Solzhenitsyn experience during his first stay in the Gulag prison system?

8. Where was Solzhenitsyn arrested, and what was his reaction?

9. What was the Section 11 paperwork that Solzhenitsyn signed during his interrogation?

10. Why couldn't interrogators be trusted to uphold the law?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When people were sent to a Gulag labor camp, it was particularly difficult for their families. Explain how families tried to cope when one of their members was sent away. Give at least two ways prisoners attempted to stay in contact with their families even during their imprisonment.

Essay Topic 2

The years 1937-1938 were considered the "Great Terror" years in Russia. Describe how life changed for the prisoners in the work camps during this era. Explain how Stalin used these two years to promote his own political agenda. What effect did this time have on Stalin's popularity within Russia?

Essay Topic 3

In his memoir, Solzhenitsyn gives very specific descriptions about the soldiers who were a part of the mass arrests leading to the overflow of prisoners in Gulag. What types of men were typically arresting soldiers during this time? What was specific about the arresting soldiers' uniforms? What does Solzhenitsyn remember most about the guards who arrested him?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 840 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample