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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. How does Leo feel about Tonia?

2. What does Kira learn about Galina the night she visits Kira's apartment?

3. What happens to Kira at the House of Peasants?

4. When Leo returns from the sanatorium, what does Kira note about his eyes?

5. Who discovers that he is the father of Sonia's unborn child?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Leo's partners in the food store feel about him?

2. What happens with the wedding present Leo bought for Victor?

3. What makes Leo's illness particularly frightening for Kira?

4. Why does Victor feel that he cannot get ahead in the Communist Party?

5. What does Kira reveal to Andrei about the night he said he loved her?

6. What is the food store?

7. What steps does Kira take to try to send Leo to a sanatorium?

8. Why has Stepan lost faith in the revolution/Communism?

9. What does Katia tell Sasha one evening after Irina says she fears he will be exiled?

10. How does Kira respond to Andrei's investigation of the food store?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many different relationships in "We the Living": family, romantic, intimate, co-worker... Choose one type of relationship and describe the different ways characters act and respond to that relationship. What are the best parts? What parts are flawed? What characters succeed because of the relationship? What characters fail? What is Ayn Rand saying about that type of relationship?

Essay Topic 2

Leo is one of the most dynamic characters in "We the Living". Consider Leo's life in terms of the following: his family history, his relationship with Kira, his relationship with women, and his desire to get ahead in life. Is Leo tragic?

Essay Topic 3

As "We the Living" progresses, Communism's ideals are slowly dissolved and the Party is proven to be quite corrupt. Give three examples of how this transformation occurs from beginning to end of the novel.

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This section contains 703 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample