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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. On page 35, General Zaroff criticizes Rainsford's "scruples." What is he criticizing?
(a) Rainsford's eagerness to condemn Zaroff's "game."
(b) Rainsford's religious beliefs.
(c) Rainsford's anger on behalf of Zaroff's victims.
(d) Rainsford's hesitation to do something that he thinks is wrong.

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

3. What justification does Zaroff give for his actions?
(a) He is only hunting lower class people.
(b) He kills his victims quickly and as painlessly as possible.
(c) He does give his victims a choice.
(d) He is only hunting non-Christians.

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

5. After Zaroff leaves, when Rainsford is lying in the tree and thinking over what has just happened, what emotion does Rainsford feel?
(a) Anger.
(b) Regret.
(c) Terror.
(d) Triumph.

Short Answer Questions

1. On page 35, Zaroff says that Rainsford's attitude is "like finding a snuffbox in a limousine." What rhetorical technique is he employing?

2. 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?

3. For how long does someone have to elude the General in order to win the game?

4. What is the result of Rainsford's final trap?

5. On the second night, what danger does Rainsford narrowly avoid?

Short Essay Questions

1. During Rainsford's attempt to escape Zaroff, there are many references to animals. How are they used and what is their significance?

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

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

4. How does General Zaroff react to Rainsford's various traps?

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

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

7. How does Rainsford finally escape Zaroff, and why is Zaroff foolish to assume that Rainsford is dead?

8. What allusion is contained in the sentence "I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable," and what is the meaning of the allusion (50)?

9. How does Zaroff obtain his victims?

10. What does the sentence "He was in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations, clearly, must take place within that frame" mean? (49)

(see the answer keys)

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