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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. Where does Komarovsky offer to send Lara and her daughter for safety?

2. Why does Lara admire Yuri?

3. While living across the street from the house of sculptures in Chapter 13, why do Lara and Yuri feel they must leave Yuriatin soon?

4. In Chapter 14, why is Strelnikov in hiding?

5. When Yuri returns to Yuriatin in chapter 13, where does he believe his wife and son have gone?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Yuri's relationship with Marina.

2. Pasternak ties the love story in Dr. Zhivago to a reference to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. How are the two romantic tragedies similar?

3. Describe what happens when Yuri breaks Red Cross rules and uses a rifle.

4. Describe Yuri's death and funeral.

5. Describe Yuri's relationship with Vasia.

6. Describe Yuri's behavior after Lara leaves for Vladivostok.

7. How does Yuri avoid the temptation of considering Lara and her daughter his new family?

8. What do Yuri and Lara do when they hear a rumor that the Executive Committee plans to arrest them?

9. Why do you think Yuri stays in Yuriatin for a time instead of leaving immediately to find his wife and family?

10. In Chapter 13, while in Yuritan, what does Lara want to have happen to her relationship with Yuri?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of the rowan tree as described by Yuri. How does it differ from all the other trees that surround it? What does it symbolize to Yuri? Later in the story, Yuri refers to drops of blood in the snow as appearing like fallen rowan berries. What is the significance of the fallen berries?

Essay Topic 2

Identify specific traumas or times of struggle that Yuri must endure in the book. How do these events affect the development of his character? How does he overcome these difficulties? What affect does his attitude have on his ability to cope with difficulty?

Essay Topic 3

In the book, character and events seem to coincidentally occur at just the right (or wrong) time. What role does fate play in Yuri's life? What role does fate play in Lara's life? Give specific examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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