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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 happened to the money that Nicholas gives to Captain Lebyatkin for Mary?

2. Why did Nicholas initially take an interest in Captain Lebyatkin?

3. What are Shatov's political views?

4. What outrageous act does a local lieutenant commit?

5. What does Nicholas ask his servant to help him do after Peter leaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Karmazinov think about Russia?

2. Why does Lisa Tushin approach Shatov?

3. Describe Nicholas Stavrogin's status in Russian society.

4. What does Peter ask his father after he (Peter) has recounted the story of Stavrogin and Miss Lebyatkin?

5. Why is Stepan's house searched?

6. Who dies as a result of Shatov's murder? Who is arrested?

7. How does Stavrogin try to avoid the duel with Gaganov?

8. How are Stavrogin and Lisa getting along the morning after the night they spent together?

9. What happens to Lisa after she hears about Stavrogin's role in Mary and the Captain's murder?

10. What is Mrs. Stavrogin's response to Stepan Verkhovensky's letter to Peter about Dasha?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is authority portrayed in The Possessed? What kinds of authority are there, and what are the limits of their power? Are any new roles with new authorities brought into being through the action of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Is Shatov's wife's pregnancy a source of real hope in The Possessed, or is the hope undermined by her infidelity and Shatov's murder? Does the childbirth redeem anyone in the book?

Essay Topic 3

What is the moral of The Possessed? Is conversion to Christianity a real solution to the problems the book presents? Is there a difference between the social problems the book presents us with and the problems of individual morality that the characters face?

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This section contains 937 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample