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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 does Nastassya say about Myshkin after his proposal?

2. What gift did the General buy Nastassya Filoppovna?

3. How does Lebedev react when Rogozhin tells who he is?

4. What does Ganja ask Aglaya to do?

5. What reason does Ganja give for wanting Myshkin as a friend?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nastassya ask Myshkin, after hearing the stories of the men at the party?

2. What reason does Yephanchin say he has to be guilty over someone's death?

3. What does Nastassya say initially to Myshkin's proposal?

4. How does Nastassya react to Rogozhin's offer of a present?

5. How did Rogozhin become estranged from his father?

6. How does Myshkin respond when Adelaide asks him about falling in love?

7. What wrongs does Ganja accuse Myshkin of during this section?

8. What stories does Myshkin tell Rogozhin about religion?

9. What does Rogozhin describe as having happened between him and Nastassya before she left him?

10. What does Myshkin say that he does not care about, before he proposes to Nastassya?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, characters communicate private messages through letters. Discuss the role of letters in the novel.

1) Why do characters use letters to communicate? What types of messages do the characters communicate through letters?

2) How do the intentions of letter-writers and the meanings interpreted by readers differ? Why? What does this say about communication in the novel?

3) How do letters being read by unintended audiences or not delivered affect the course of the story?

Essay Topic 2

The characters' reactions and actions in the novel are often emotional ones. Discuss emotionalism in the novel.

1) How do Aglaya and Nastassya both react emotionally? How do their emotional reactions influence events and others' perceptions of them? What decisions do they make based on emotions?

2) How are Myshkin and Rogozhin's reactions different? What role does emotion play in each man's life?

3) How are Lebedev, General Ivolgin, Ganja, and other characters emotional? What consequences do their emotional responses contribute to?

Essay Topic 3

Myshkin is known for his forgiveness of others throughout the novel. Discuss forgiveness in the novel.

1) Why does Myshkin continue to forgive others for wrongs, including Rogozhin's murder of Nastassya? Are there other characters in the novel that forgive each other for wrongdoings?

2) How does the knowledge of assured forgiveness affect the characters' behavior? Does it make Lebedev more likely to be complicit in the scandalous article against Myshkin? Does forgiveness have a negative affect on characters?

3) When do the characters not forgive each other? How does the lack of forgiveness affect the characters' lives?

(see the answer keys)

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