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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 is Verkhovensky ashamed of?

2. What does Stavrogin tell Peter he is planning to do?

3. Who is Lisa Tushin?

4. What last-minute effort does Stavrogin make to avert the duel?

5. Who is Mrs. Lembke hosting in her salon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is on the schedule for the fête, and what is Julia Lembke's position in town on the eve of the fête?

2. What does Peter tell us about why Nicholas Stavrogin treated Miss Lebyatkin the way he did?

3. Describe the events that take place on stage at the fête.

4. How does Stepan Verhovensky feel about Verkhovensky's marriage to Dasha?

5. What does Karmazinov think about Russia?

6. What objections are raised to murdering Shatov, and who raises them?

7. How does the first chapter of Part I end?

8. What is Verkhovensky's status in Russian society?

9. What is Kirilov's view of life, and how does Peter respond to it?

10. Where does Stepan go after he leaves Mrs. Stavrogin's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What kinds of violence are depicted in The Possessed? Are there different rules and expectations for each kind of violence? Are some kinds of violence more effective in resolving problems than others? Is violence ever a useful tool in The Possessed, or is it always merely destructive?

Essay Topic 2

What is Dostoevsky's perspective on the action in The Possessed? Is he narrating in all seriousness, or is he ironically or satirically detached from his characters?

Essay Topic 3

Peter Verkhovensky spends much of the book agitating for an uprising, but the violence results in the deaths of many of the main characters and the arrest of many of Peter's co-conspirators. Is the action of the book a success insofar as it stirred up trouble in the society of the town? Or is it a failure insofar as it did not accomplish a complete reinvention of Russian society?

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