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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. Who is on his way to visit at the end of the second chapter?

2. Why has Gaganov been insulting Stavrogin?

3. What are Shatov's political views?

4. What has Peter Verkhovensky been doing in the week since the confrontations at Mrs. Stavrogin's house?

5. Which topic is on the schedule of events for the fête?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Peter tell us about why Nicholas Stavrogin treated Miss Lebyatkin the way he did?

2. What leads up to Nicholas' confession that he is married to Mary?

3. What plans does Peter seem to be making at the end of Part II, Chapter 4?

4. What do Erkel and Peter tell Shatov when they meet with him?

5. What does Peter tell us about Nicholas Stavrogin's relationship with Miss Lebyatkin?

6. What does Karmazinov think about Russia?

7. What condition does Julia Lembke impose on invitations to the fête she is planning for the town?

8. What is Shigalyov's new plan of social organization?

9. How are Stavrogin and Lisa getting along the morning after the night they spent together?

10. What is the relationship between Mr. Lembke and Peter Verkhovensky?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of literature in The Possessed? What kinds of literature are there, and what do characters expect from writers and from novels and from tracts? What effect do writers and literature have on society?

Essay Topic 2

Is The Possessed a Christian novel? What kind of Christianity does it align with? Old Testament or New Testament? In what ways does the novel seem atheistic, or existential?

Essay Topic 3

How is authority portrayed in The Possessed? What kinds of authority are there, and what are the limits of their power? Are any new roles with new authorities brought into being through the action of the novel?

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