View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Pahom's reaction to the trouble with the steward?
(a) He refuses to have any more dealings with the man.
(b) He takes the steward to court.
(c) He insists that the family move to a new settlement.
(d) He takes his anger out on his family.

2. What does the stranger staying at Pahom's house overnight tell Pahom?
(a) That people in the new settlement beyond the Volga are making good money.
(b) Life in the countryside is difficult but secure.
(c) The Bashkir are selling land very cheaply.
(d) Life in town is very risky.

3. How does Pahom's wife defend their life to her sister?
(a) She says that living in the countryside is more moral.
(b) She says that someday Pahom will make them rich.
(c) She says that their life is quiet and ordinary.
(d) She says that their life is steady and safe.

4. What does Pahom's wife say may happen to a man in town?
(a) He may be the victim of crime.
(b) He may be tempted by the devil.
(c) He may become lazy.
(d) He may die of stress.

5. Who is the first person that the local landowner offers to sell her land to?
(a) The innkeeper.
(b) Simon.
(c) The leader of the commune.
(d) Pahom.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the younger sister is "piqued," what is she feeling?

2. The story opens with two sisters. What does the older sister's husband do for a living?

3. What agreement does Pahom come to with the landowner?

4. How far does Pahom walk in order to get to the new settlement?

5. Which character says that "Loss and gain are brothers twain"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Pahom is most angry at the neighbor who has cut down his trees because whoever it was did not just take one or two trees but instead cut down a whole clump of trees. Why does this make Pahom angry, and what is ironic about his anger?

2. In what two ways is Pahom's first decision to buy land different from his later decisions?

3. In Chapter I, what is ironic about the conversation between the two sisters?

4. What changes the relationship between the woman who owns land near the village and the peasants, and how does the relationship change?

5. What sequence of events with Simon follows Pahom's discovery of the stripped trees?

6. How does Pahom's relationship with his community change, and what are two specific pieces of evidence for this change?

7. What sacrifices do Pahom and his family make for the first plot of land that they buy?

8. When the devil overhears Pahom's thoughts, what does he vow to do?

9. In Chapter I, what is ironic about where Pahom is while he listens to his wife and her sister talk?

10. What prevents the peasants from buying the nearby landowner's land as a group instead of as individuals?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,049 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample