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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 Rogozhin do after attempting to kill Myshkin?

2. What does Rogozhin's mother do to Myshkin?

3. What state is Rogozhin in when he visits Ganja's house on Myshkin's first night there?

4. What is the General's plan for his daughter Aglaya?

5. Who does the General offer Totsky to marry?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rogozhin and Lebedev's relationship seem to be like during their conversation on the train?

2. How does Myshkin describe Aglaya?

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

4. How does Aglaya react to Ganja's letter?

5. What does Yephanchin say that he did to make up for his guilty feelings?

6. How do the Yephanchins' three daughters react to Myshkin?

7. How does the General treat Prince Myshkin?

8. How does Ganja come to blows with Myshkin, and how does Myshkin respond?

9. Why is Ganja marrying Nastassya?

10. What does Myshkin do, when Ganja apologizes for hitting him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss death in the novel.

1) Discuss Hippolite's attempted suicide and impending death from disease. How does Hippolite perceive death? How does he deal with impending death?

2) Discuss General Ivolgin's death from stroke. What does death mean to the General and those around him? What perspective does his first stroke and eventual death put on his disagreement with Lebedev?

3) Discuss Nastassya's death. What leads up to her death? What does her death mean to Rogozhin and to Myshkin? What does death mean to Nastassya?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how characters in the novel define themselves, and their relationships to others.

1) How does Rogozhin define himself in the novel? What is his perception of himself? How does his own self-perception lead him to violence against both Myshkin and Nastassya?

2) How does Nastassya define herself in the novel? How does her relationship with Totsky affect her self-perception? How does her view of herself affect her relationships with Rogozhin and with Myshkin?

3) How does Aglyana perceive herself? How do her parents' and sisters' attitudes affect her self-perception? How does her definition of herself affect her relationships with others, including her romantic relationships with Ganja and Myshkin? What leads her to the confrontation with Nastassya after Myshkin's seizure?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of family in the characters' lives.

1) How do the characters' families and social positions affect their lives? How do family relationships affect how the characters are accepted by society?

2) How does it affect Nastassya that her parents are killed when she is young? How do the characters' upbringings affect their personalities and attitudes?

3) How do the characters' families try to influence the characters' lives and decisions? What forces do families use to influence family members' behavior.

(see the answer keys)

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