View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Tolstoy say Pozdnyshev is oblivious to in his marriage?

2. How does Stepan Kasatsky respond when Countess Korotkova tells him about her other lover?

3. Where does Murad stay while he is in flight?

4. What does Pozdnyshev say he was determined to do throughout his marriage?

5. What does Vasili decide to do when they have lost the road?

Short Essay Questions

1. What effect does Trukhachevsky's arrival have on Pozdnyshev's marriage?

2. How does Stepan acquire the name Father Sergius?

3. What did the Tsar decide with regard to Murad?

4. What does Pozdnyshev realize as soon as he kills his wife?

5. What is the event that precipitates Pozdnyshev's murder of his wife?

6. Describe Stepan Kasatsky's relationship with Countess Korotkova.

7. Describe Stepan Kasatsky' personality.

8. What does Murad ask Prince Vorontsov for after he surrenders?

9. Describe Pozdnyshev's relation with his children.

10. Why does Murad want to fight Shamil?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Some of Tolstoy's characters learn and grow, but some, like Ivan Ilych's wife, remain consistently bound to their temperament. Analyzing characters who are bound by temperament, assess the theory of temperament in Tolstoy's writing. Are people free to develop, or are they bound by their characters, in Tolstoy's opinion?

Essay Topic 2

Describe Tolstoy's treatment of the relationship between masters and servants in three stories in "Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy". How are the roles defined? How do characters vary from them?

Essay Topic 3

What is Tolstoy's relation with his characters and the events he describes? Is he a sympathetic narrator, or does he distance himself from his characters' thoughts and actions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 683 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample