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

Short Answer Questions

1. What have Liputin and Fedka been doing at the Spigulin factory?

2. Where does Stepan Verkhovensky wander into in the beginning of Chapter 7 of Part 3?

3. How long had Shatov's wife been gone before she returns?

4. Who does Peter allow into the fête?

5. What happens to the swine in the story from Luke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does innocence play in The Possessed? Is it always sacrificed, as Mary Lebyatkin and Shatov are? Does it endure anywhere, in spite of Mary and Shatov's murders?

Essay Topic 2

Is the duel between Gaganov and Stavrogin a metaphor for the book? Is the murder of Captain and Mary Lebyatkin a better metaphor? What event in the book is most representative of the book as a whole?

Essay Topic 3

Peter Verkhovensky exploits the blindness, weakness and gullibility of many characters as he works his wiles. Does the action of the book change any of those characters so that they are immune from Peter's machinations? Asked another way--is The Possessed a moral book that teaches a lesson, or a cynical book that teaches that there are no lessons, only different actors with different motivations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 278 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample