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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Zaroff believe fighting in the war should have taught Rainsford?
(a) To keep a level head when he is in danger.
(b) That nothing in life is fair.
(c) How to hunt for human beings.
(d) That human life is not inherently valuable.

2. When Rainsford digs his pit trap, he is said to dig like what?
(a) A beaver.
(b) A soldier.
(c) A Russian serf.
(d) A groundhog.

3. What is the significance of the two trees, where one is leaning on the other?
(a) Rainsford is sure that he has seen them before.
(b) Rainsford uses them to build his first trap.
(c) Rainsford uses the fallen tree to make a bridge to cross the river.
(d) Rainsford knows that this is a trail marker.

4. What spot on the island does Zaroff warn Rainsford to stay away from?
(a) The swamp.
(b) The cliffs.
(c) The caves.
(d) The river.

5. On page 59, Rainsford's waiting is described with the phrase "He lived a year in a minute." What literary technique is being used here?
(a) Simile.
(b) Onomatopoeia.
(c) Imagery.
(d) Hyperbole.

Short Answer Questions

1. What animal does Rainsford compare himself to when he climbs the tree?

2. How much of a head start does Zaroff offer his victims?

3. What does General Zaroff imply is true about hunting human beings?

4. What animal does Rainsford try to think like during the first day of being hunted?

5. What is it implied that Zaroff keeps in his library?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Zaroff want to show Rainsford in the cellar and in the library, and what does this tell the reader about him?

2. What disagreement do Zaroff and Rainsford have about the difference between "hunting" and "murder"?

3. What does Zaroff ask Rainsford to promise him he will do if he wins the "game," and what is the result?

4. How does Zaroff characterize Rainsford's views on hunting human beings?

5. Explain at least two ways in which the story's title can be understood.

6. What are the terms of General Zaroff's "game"?

7. How does Zaroff obtain his victims?

8. What does Zaroff say about the "strong" and the "weak" (35)?

9. Describe General Zaroff's actions when Rainsford is hiding in the tree.

10. What part of the island does Zaroff tell Rainsford to avoid, and what are at least two likely motives for his warning?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,024 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample