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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 Peter planning throughout Part II of The Possessed?

2. How does Nicholas Stavrogin answer his mother's question?

3. What would normally happen to youth who behave as these youth are behaving?

4. What is Stepan Verkhovensky's relationship with Mrs. Stavrogin?

5. What plan does Mrs. Stavrogin make for Verhovensky?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe Mrs. Stavrogin's relationship with Verkhovensky.

4. What business does Peter conduct with Kirilov in the raining cold of the night?

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

6. What condition does Julia Lembke impose on invitations to the fête she is planning for the town?

7. How does Shatov respond to Lisa Tushin's proposal?

8. What is Shigalyov's new plan of social organization?

9. What does Mrs. Stavrogin find out about Nicholas' relationship with Mss Lebyatikin?

10. What effect do Julia Lembke's political activities have on Mr. Lembke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Russianness consist of in The Possessed? Who possesses it? Who defends it? Who attacks it?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Following the allegory of the swine from Luke, are the demons cast out of the society of the novel? Are they cast out of Russian society by Dostoevsky's novel?

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This section contains 795 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample