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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why was it a mistake to charge a high price for the fête?

2. What crime is Fedka implicated in?

3. Who is on the stage when Karminazov goes to speak?

4. Why do the townspeople think the Lebyatkins were killed?

5. Why is The Possessed an inaccurate transposition of the story of the swine in Luke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of the crowd in The Possessed? How do the gathered factory workers or the guests at the fête behave like one character with a unified will or behavior of their own? How does Dostoevsky describe the crowds? What power do they have? What weaknesses?

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of literature in The Possessed? What kinds of literature are there, and what do characters expect from writers and from novels and from tracts? What effect do writers and literature have on society?

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 309 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample