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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What causes Ivan Ilych much distress?
(a) His wife.
(b) Not being able to continue working at his new job.
(c) Being constantly on guard against anything that might distress him.
(d) The severe pain.

2. In Chapter 6, is Ivan able to replace his thoughts of death?
(a) Yes, it works brilliantly.
(b) No, it doesn't work anymore.
(c) No, not all the time.
(d) Yes, but it takes time.

3. Where does Ivan Ilych take his family when he takes a leave of absence from his job?
(a) To America.
(b) To the seaside.
(c) To his wife's brother's family.
(d) To the countryside.

4. Which character does Chapter 2 discuss?
(a) Praskovya Fedorovna.
(b) Peter Ivanovich.
(c) Ivan Ilych.
(d) Gerasim.

5. How does Ivan Ilych's relationship with his wife affect his work?
(a) He is unprepared for court.
(b) He misses several days.
(c) He becomes more and more ambitious.
(d) He becomes close friends with the judge.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ivan Ilych try to understand?

2. What does Ivan Ilych see as "doing his duty?"

3. What year is it in the novel?

4. How much money does Ivan Ilych need to be paid?

5. Who comes to visit Ivan Ilych in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the relationship between Ivan and his wife.

2. What is Ivan's feeling of suffocation symbolize in Chapter 12?

3. How is it possible that Ivan hasn't seen how thin and yellow he looks until his brother-in-law arrives?

4. Why is Ivan so upset that he didn't get the promotion?

5. What does Ivan discover about his method of coping in Chapter 6?

6. How is Ivan's experience of death in Chapter 2 similar to Peter Ivanovich's experience of death in Chapter 1?

7. Examine the author's other main theme of this story.

8. Describe how Ivan and others' initial response to his illness are classic examples of the denial stage of dying.

9. How is Ivan's sense of power juxtaposed in Chapter 2?

10. Explain how reactions to Ivan's death by Gerasim and Ivan's son differ from the reactions of all the other characters in Chapter 1.

(see the answer keys)

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