Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky Study questions

Crime and Punishment

Facts about Fyodor Dostoyevsky

➾ Despite being a well-known author, Dostoyevsky lived in near-poverty and was plagued by compulsive gambling debts.

➾ His father, a doctor who ruled the family strictly, was murdered by his own serfs who poured vodka down his throat.

➾ Although he loved literature, his father forced him to train in engineering at the military academy in St. Petersburg.

➾ Dostoyevsky was arrested for treason after joining the Petrashevsky Circle, a group of radical intellectuals who advocated government reform.

➾ He was taken before a firing squad and stood waiting for execution before a messenger arrived to announce that the tsar had commuted his death sentence.

➾ Authorities are believed to have intended the execution to be a mock execution all along, designed for psychological punishment.

➾ His prison experiences and near-death moment converted him from pro-Western liberal-socialist ideas to an intense spirituality and a specific Russian brand of Christianity.

➾ He had to spend several years after his prison camp term in Siberia as an army private before he could return to St. Petersburg.

➾ Dostoyevsky suffered from epilepsy, a condition little understood at the time, which began during his incarceration in the labor camp.

➾ Saddled with massive debts, he wrote the novella The Gambler in just one month by dictating it to a stenographer to avoid losing all rights to his past and future works.

➾ He subsequently married that stenographer, Anna Snitkina, who helped reform his life, managed his career, and nursed him through his depression and epilepsy.

Fyodor Dostoevsky MCQs

1. In what city was Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky born in 1821?

A. St. Petersburg
B. Moscow
C. Omsk
D. London

B. Moscow
He was born in Moscow, where his father worked as a doctor at a hospital for the póor.

2. What was the profession of Dostoyevsky’s father?

A. A writer and critic
B. A teacher
C. A doctor/former army surgeon
D. An engineer

C. A doctor/former army surgeon
His father was a staff doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Póor in Moscow.

3. How old was Dostoyevsky when his mother died?

A. Twelve
B. Sixteen
C. Twenty-one
D. Thirty

B. Sixteen
His mother’s death in 1837 was a significant emotional blow during his formative teenage years.

4. Despite his love of books, what subject did Dostoyevsky’s father insist that he study?

A. Medicine
B. Law
C. Philosophy
D. Engineering

D. Engineering
His father sent him to a military engineering academy, a practical career path Dostoyevsky disliked.

5. Where did Dostoyevsky train in engineering from 1838 to 1843?

A. Moscow University
B. The St. Petersburg Literary Academy
C. The military engineering academy in St. Petersburg
D. The Siberian Military Outpost

C. The military engineering academy in St. Petersburg
He was sent to St. Petersburg for a military engineering education, which he found uninspiring.

6. How did Dostoyevsky’s father die, an incident that had a profound impact on Fyodor?

A. He died in a duel.
B. He died during a cholera epidemic.
C. He was murdered by one of his serfs.
D. He committed suícide due to debt.

C. He was murdered by one of his serfs.
The violent death of his father, reportedly by his own serfs, deeply influenced Dostoyevsky.

7. What rank did Dostoyevsky graduate with from the Academy of Military Engineers in 1843?

A. Colonel
B. Lieutenant/Sublieutenant
C. Captain
D. Private

B. Lieutenant/Sublieutenant
He graduated as a sublieutenant but his heart was not in a military career.

8. What reason is given for Dostoyevsky quickly abandoning his military career after graduating?

A. He was medically discharged.
B. He was forced out by debt collectors.
C. He preferred writing to serving in the army.
D. He immediately moved abroad.

C. He preferred writing to serving in the army.
His passion was always for literature, and he resigned his commission to become a full-time writer.

9. How many children eventually consisted of Dostoyevsky’s family (including him)?

A. Four
B. Five
C. Six
D. Seven

D. Seven
Fyodor was the second of seven children born to Dr. Mikhail and Maria Dostoyevsky.

10. What types of novels did young Dostoyevsky enthusiastically read?

A. Only Russian novels
B. Only German novels
C. English and Spanish novels
D. Russian, French, and German novels

D. Russian, French, and German novels
He was well-read in European literature, which influenced his complex philosophical novels.

11. What was the title of the translation of Balzac’s work that Dostoyevsky published in 1844?

A. Póor Folk
B. The Double
C. Crime and Punishment
D. Eugenie Grandet

D. Eugenie Grandet
His first published work was a translation of this French novel, which had little success.

12. What was Dostoyevsky’s first original published work (a short novel) in 1846, which was widely acclaimed?

A. The Double
B. Notes from Underground
C. Póor Folk
D. The Gambler

C. Póor Folk
This sentimental novel was a huge critical success and made him famous in literary circles.

13. Who was the influential critic who championed Dostoyevsky’s first original published work?

A. Mikhail Petrashevsky
B. Vissarion Belinsky
C. Leo Tolstoy
D. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

B. Vissarion Belinsky
Belinsky, the leading critic of the day, praised Póor Folk and hailed Dostoyevsky as a new talent.

14. What group of radical intellectuals did Dostoyevsky join in 1848, named after its leader?

A. The Nihilist Front
B. The Sons of Russia
C. The Petrashevsky Circle
D. The St. Petersburg Critics

C. The Petrashevsky Circle
He joined this group of radical thinkers who discussed utopian socialism and political reform.

15. What political view did the Petrashevsky Circle advocate for?

A. Isolationism
B. Absolute monarchy
C. Reforming the autocratic tsarist government
D. Complete separation from Western Europe

C. Reforming the autocratic tsarist government
The group discussed Western philosophies and social reforms, which was seen as a threat by the Tsar.

16. On what charge was Dostoyevsky arrested in 1849?

A. Gambling fraud
B. Sedition against the Church
C. Murder
D. Treason

D. Treason
He and other members of the Petrashevsky Circle were arrested for treason against the Tsar.

17. What was Dostoyevsky’s initial sentence for his crime?

A. Four years of military service
B. Life in prison
C. Death
D. Exile to Moscow

C. Death
He was sentenced to death by firing squad, a sentence that was commuted at the last possible second.

18. Where was Dostoyevsky placed in solitary confinement for eight months following his arrest?

A. Moscow’s Hospital for the Póor
B. The Siberian Labor Camp
C. The Petropavlovsky Fortress
D. His family home in St. Petersburg

C. The Petropavlovsky Fortress
He was held in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg during the investigation.

19. What happened to Dostoyevsky’s death sentence?

A. It was carried out immediately.
B. He escaped before the execution.
C. It was commuted to a term of hard labor in Siberia.
D. He convinced the Tsar to grant him amnesty.

C. It was commuted to a term of hard labor in Siberia.
The mock execution was a cruel ploy; his sentence was changed to four years of hard labor in Siberia.

20. What duration of hard labor in a Siberian prison was Dostoyevsky’s sentence reduced to?

A. One year
B. Two years
C. Four years
D. Eight years

C. Four years
His death sentence was commuted to four years of hard labor in a Siberian katorga.

21. Through his dealings with ordinary inmates in prison, Dostoyevsky developed an understanding of the criminal mentality and what else?

A. Engineering principles
B. French literature
C. Western politics
D. The Russian soul

D. The Russian soul
His time in Siberia gave him what he considered a profound insight into the common Russian people.

22. During his time in prison, Dostoyevsky rejected his earlier pro-Western ideas and instead embraced:

A. Nihilism
B. A specifically Russian brand of Christianity
C. Materialist atheism
D. Utilitarianism

B. A specifically Russian brand of Christianity
His prison experience led to a profound spiritual conversion to Russian Orthodox Christianity.

23. After his release from the prison camp, Dostoyevsky spent several more years in Siberia doing what?

A. Teaching literature
B. Serving as an army private
C. Working as a civilian doctor
D. Traveling abroad

B. Serving as an army private
His sentence included a period of forced military service in Siberia after his labor camp term ended.

24. In what year did Dostoyevsky return to St. Petersburg?

A. 1849
B. 1854
C. 1859
D. 1864

C. 1859
After his prison term and mandatory military service, he was finally allowed to return to St. Petersburg.

25. What affliction was Dostoyevsky troubled by throughout his later life?

A. Severe chronic asthma
B. Tuberculosis
C. Epilepsy
D. Paralysis

C. Epilepsy
He suffered from epilepsy, and his seizures are described in several of his major novels.

26. What was the name of Dostoyevsky’s first wife, whom he married during his military service?

A. Anna Snitkina
B. Apollinaria Suslova
C. Iris Murdoch
D. Marya Dmitrievna Isaeva

D. Marya Dmitrievna Isaeva
He married Marya, a widow, while still in Siberia. Their marriage was unhappy and turbulent.

27. Who was the student with whom Dostoyevsky had an affair during his first trip abroad in 1862?

A. Mariya Isaeva
B. Anna Snitkina
C. Apollinaria Suslova
D. Iris Murdoch

C. Apollinaria Suslova
His turbulent affair with Suslova was a source of great emotional distress and financial ruin from gambling.

28. What personal misfortune did Dostoyevsky experience in the mid-1860s?

A. The burning of his manuscripts.
B. The death of his wife and his brother, Mikhail.
C. The loss of his inheritance.
D. A second arrest and exile.

B. The death of his wife and his brother, Mikhail.
These deaths, along with his gambling debts, left him financially and emotionally devastated.

29. What compulsive habit often forced Dostoyevsky to write intensely?

A. Compulsive spending on clothing
B. Compulsive drinking
C. Compulsive gambling
D. Compulsive collecting of art

C. Compulsive gambling
His severe gambling addiction repeatedly plunged him into debt, forcing him to write for advances.

30. Who did Dostoyevsky marry in 1867, who had served as his stenographer?

A. Marya Dmitrievna Isaeva
B. Apollinaria Suslova
C. Anna Grigorievna Snitkin
D. Iris Murdoch

C. Anna Grigorievna Snitkin
Anna Snitkina, his second wife, brought stability to his life and managed his finances.

31. In the mid-1840s, which work introduced the concept of the “double”?

A. Póor Folk
B. Notes from Underground
C. The Double
D. The Idiot

C. “The Double”
This early novella explored the psychological breakdown of a man haunted by his doppelgänger.

32. The concept of the “double” suggests that a person may have what?

A. Physical illness
B. Financial ruin
C. A psychological breakdown
D. A good or evil “twin”

D. A good or evil “twin”
This concept explores the divided self and the psychological breakdown of the protagonist.

33. Which book, based on his years in prison, did Dostoyevsky publish in 1861?

A. Crime and Punishment
B. Notes from Underground
C. The Idiot
D. The House of the Dead

D. The House of the Dead
This novel was a fictionalized account of his brutal experiences in the Siberian prison camp.

34. Which complex work, considered the preface to his great novels, was published in 1864?

A. The Double
B. The Gambler
C. Notes from Underground
D. The Idio

C. Notes from Underground
This work introduced the “underground man” and the existentialist themes of his later masterpieces.

35. Which novel is widely regarded as Dostoyevsky’s first true masterpiece?

A. The Brothers Karamazov
B. The Idiot
C. Crime and Punishment
D. Demons

C. Crime and Punishment
Published in 1866, this novel about Raskolnikov’s crime is one of the most famous in world literature.

36. Why did Dostoyevsky write the novella The Gambler in just one month?

A. To fulfill a request from his first wife.
B. To chronicle his experiences in Siberia.
C. To pay his debts and meet a contract deadline.
D. To detail the life of his brother Mikhail.

C. To pay his debts and meet a contract deadline.
He wrote it under extreme pressure from a publisher, dictating it to Anna Snitkina.

37. Which of the following is NOT listed among Dostoyevsky’s foremost later novels?

A. The Idiot
B. The Possessed
C. Poor Folk
D. The Brothers Karamazov

C. Póor Folk
Póor Folk was his acclaimed first novel, not part of his later, great masterpieces.

38. Which of Dostoyevsky’s novels is regarded by many as the apex of his career?

A. Crime and Punishment
B. Notes from Underground
C. The Gambler
D. The Brothers Karamazov

D. The Brothers Karamazov
Published in 1880, this was his final and most ambitious novel, exploring deep philosophical questions.

39. With which contemporary is Dostoyevsky regarded as one of the two greatest nineteenth-century Russian novelists?

A. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
B. Leo Tolstoy
C. Franz Kafka
D. Mikhail Petrashevsky

B. Leo Tolstoy
Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy are considered the two giants of 19th-century Russian literature.

40. In his final years, what three things did Dostoyevsky finally gain?

A. Health, a divorce, and property
B. Political power, freedom, and notoriety
C. Critical acclaim, social prestige, and financial security
D. A government pension, a military rank, and critical rejection

C. Critical acclaim, social prestige, and financial security
After a life of struggle, his final years brought him the stability and recognition he had long lacked.

41. What ideas did Dostoevsky write about in his books?

A. Scientific and technical issues
B. Agricultural and engineering issues
C. Deep political, social, and religious issues
D. Economic theory

C. Deep political, social, and religious issues
His novels are famous for their profound engagement with psychology, philosophy, and spirituality.

42. Dostoyevsky’s insights into human psychology anticipated the theories of which influential figure?

A. Carl Rogers
B. Ivan Pavlov
C. Sigmund Freud
D. Jean-Paul Sartre

C. Sigmund Freud
His exploration of the “underground,” guilt, and irrational motives prefigured Freudian psychoanalysis.

43. Dostoyevsky’s rejection of leftist political thought is evident through characters like Raskolnikov, Luzhin, and whom?

A. Marmeladov
B. Razumikhin
C. Svidrigailov
D. Lebezyatnikov

D. Lebezyatnikov
Lebezyatnikov in Crime and Punishment is a caricature of the superficial, “progressive” thinkers Dostoyevsky mocked.

44. Which major 20th-century philosophical movement looked to Dostoyevsky for his insights?

A. Liberal-Socialism
B. Nihilism
C. Existentialism
D. Utilitarianism

C. Existentialism
Thinkers like Camus and Sartre saw Dostoyevsky as a forerunner of existentialist ideas about freedom and absurdity.

45. Dostoyevsky’s experiences traveling abroad fueled his rejection of what?

A. Russian literary journals
B. Western philosophies/Western society
C. Orthodox Christianity
D. Russian military traditions

B. Western philosophies/Western society
His trips to Europe solidified his belief that Western materialism and atheism were corrupting.

46. What did some scholars claim Dostoyevsky’s view of the Russian character prophesied?

A. The golden age of Tsarist reform.
B. The expansion of the Russian railway system.
C. The Russian Revolution and deprivations under Soviet rule.
D. The dissolution of military academies.

C. The Russian Revolution and deprivations under Soviet rule.
His insights into radicalism (Demons) and suffering were seen as prophetic of Russia’s future.

47. What did Dostoyevsky’s great later novels form the basis for?

A. His early radical political views.
B. The philosophy of nihilism.
C. His lifelong intense spirituality and beliefs.
D. The theories of engineering.

C. His lifelong intense spirituality and beliefs.
His major novels were the vehicles for his deeply-held spiritual and philosophical convictions.

48. Dostoyevsky’s novels were major influences on which fields in the twentieth century?

A. Architecture and mathematics.
B. Literature and philosophy.
C. Engineering and medicine.
D. Economics and law.

B. Literature and philosophy.
His work profoundly influenced 20th-century literature and philosophical movements like existentialism.

49. Which of these later novelists drew inspiration from Dostoyevsky?

A. Jane Austen
B. James Joyce
C. Albert Camus
D. Ernest Hemingway

C. Albert Camus
Albert Camus and other existentialists drew heavily on the themes found in Dostoyevsky’s work.

50. What is the epitaph inscribed on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s tomb?

A. Truth is beauty, beauty truth.
B. The memory of a life well spent is eternal.
C. A man who cannot change his mind cannot change anything.
D. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone…

D. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone…
This Bible verse (John 12:24) reflects his deep Christian faith and themes of resurrection.

Poor Folk MCQs

1. When does Makar usually rest during the day?

A. Before sunrise
B. After his work is finished
C. During office hours
D. Late afternoon

B. After his work is finished.
Makar enjoys taking a short hour of sleep, usually around eight o’clock, once he has finished his writing work.

2. Where is Makar’s current living space located in the building?

A. A corridor room
B. The main hall
C. A den in the kitchen
D. The reception area

C. A den in the kitchen.
His room is a small den created by a partition wall within the kitchen apartment, allowing for privacy.

3. What is the monthly rent Makar pays for his new lodging?

A. Thirty roubles
B. Twenty-four roubles
C. Thirty-five roubles
D. Twenty roubles

B. Twenty-four roubles.
Makar chose the room because it cost twenty-four roubles, allowing him to save money compared to his old room.

4. What is Makar’s main reason for moving to the cheaper room?

A. More social opportunities
B. Better lighting conditions
C. Saving money for the future
D. Being near Barbara’s window

C. Saving money for the future.
He hopes to save and hoard money for the future, viewing financial savings as the main advantage.

5. How does Barbara use her curtain to communicate with Makar?

A. She closes it to signal bedtime
B. She waves it when leaving
C. She lowers a corner for ‘good morning’
D. She loops up a corner for greeting

D. She loops up a corner for a greeting.
When she raises the curtain corner, it signals she is thinking of him and wishing him good morning.

6. What relationship does Makar say he maintains toward Barbara?

A. A distant cousin
B. A paternal protector
C. A devoted suitor
D. An old friend

B. A paternal protector.
Makar insists his feeling is purely paternal, standing as a relative bound to watch over her orphanhood.

7. What gift does Makar first send Barbara in his early letters?

A. A new scarf
B. Two pots of geraniums
C. A box of chocolates
D. A sprig of balsam

B. Two pots of geraniums.
Makar purchased and sent her two small pots of geraniums, which he notes were quite cheap.

8. What does Barbara tell Makar she thinks of Rataziaev’s writing?

A. It is charming and grand
B. She finds it utter rubbish
C. It is romantic poetry
D. It is morally uplifting

B. She finds it utter rubbish.
Barbara states that Rataziaev’s compositions are rubbish and she does not understand Makar’s high praise for them.

9. What kind of tea-urns are primarily used by the lodgers in Makar’s building?

A. Personal, silver urns
B. Loaned from the landlady
C. Shared government property
D. Bronze decorative urns

B. Loaned from the landlady.
Most of the tea-urns belong to the landlady, and lodgers must wait their turn to use them.

10. What kind of animals tend to die quickly in Makar’s tenement?

A. Mice
B. Canaries
C. Dogs
D. Cats

B. Canaries.
Makar notes that canaries soon die in the house due to the oppressive air and bad smells, despite attempts to keep them.

11. Which lodger is described as a well-read literary staff tchinovnik?

A. Pokrovski
B. Gorshkov
C. Emelia
D. Rataziaev

D. Rataziaev.
Rataziaev is the tchinovnik on the literary staff who is well-read and hosts card parties.

12. What specific object does Makar fear his colleagues will mock him for?

A. His grey hair
B. His patched shoes
C. His cheap tobacco
D. His old uniform

B. His patched shoes.
He worries about being called “the poet Dievushkin” while walking around in resoled or patched footgear.

13. Which literary work does Makar read and identify strongly with?

A. The Cloak
B. Passion in Italy
C. The Station Overseer
D. Ivik’s Storks

C. The Station Overseer.
Makar found the book wonderful, feeling that it described his entire life perfectly, as though in a picture.

14. What does Makar compare the póor man’s sense of shame to?

A. A tattered book
B. A wounded bird
C. A young girl’s sensitiveness
D. A burning candle

C. A young girl’s sensitiveness.
He suggests that the póor man is deeply ashamed of his circumstances with the sharp sensitiveness of a young girl.

15. What item of clothing does Makar lose a button from in his chief’s office?

A. His waistcoat
B. His scarf
C. His uniform
D. His greatcoat

C. His uniform.
A button hanging by a single thread broke off his uniform and rolled across the floor to his Excellency’s feet.

16. How much money does Makar’s superior, his Excellency, give him?

A. Forty-five roubles
B. Seventy-five roubles
C. One hundred roubles
D. Thirty roubles

C. One hundred roubles.
His Excellency pulled out a pocket-book and gave Makar a note for a hundred roubles.

17. What act by his Excellency meant more to Makar than the money?

A. The promise of promotion
B. The instruction to rest
C. The kind handshake
D. The shared secret

C. The kind handshake.
Makar valued the fact that his chief took his hand and shook it, restoring his lost self-respect.

18. Where was Barbara living during the happiest time of her youth?

A. St. Petersburg city
B. Vassilievski Island
C. Tula province village
D. Moscow suburb

C. Tula province village.
Her childhood began far away in Tula province, where her father worked as a steward until she was fourteen.

19. What happened to Barbara’s father regarding his debts and business?

A. He won a legal settlement
B. His business failed due to debt
C. He was granted a large inheritance
D. He gambled all their wealth away

B. His business failed due to debt.
Before his death, her father suffered an influx of debts and his business affairs were not prospering.

20. What made Barbara’s time at boarding school torturous?

A. Lack of food
B. Constant ridicule and teasing
C. Strict physical labour
D. Excessive morning prayer

B. Constant ridicule and teasing.
Her fellow pupils teased and derided her, and the strict system worried and tortured her greatly.

21. Who was the póor student who taught Barbara and Sasha?

A. Bwikov
B. Pokrovski
C. Gorshkov
D. Markov

B. Pokrovski.
Pokrovski was a very póor young man who lived with Anna Thedorovna and taught the girls history and languages.

22. What was the greatest fault of the student Pokrovski?

A. His violent temper
B. His drunkenness
C. His lack of filial respect
D. His laziness

C. His lack of filial respect.
Barbara notes that the youth’s greatest fault was his lack of filial respect toward his odd, póorly dressed father.

23. What gift did Barbara plan to buy Pokrovski for his birthday?

A. A grammar book
B. A new winter coat
C. A complete set of Pushkin
D. A collection of almanacks

C. A complete set of Pushkin.
She knew he wanted a complete set of Pushkin’s works in the latest edition, which cost sixty roubles.

24. How did the Elder Pokrovski wish to present the books?

A. As a joint gift with Barbara
B. As his own sole gift
C. As a loan from Anna Thedorovna
D. As a gift from Bwikov

B. As his own sole gift.
The old man wanted to present all the books himself to show his son he was mending his ways.

25. How did the student Pokrovski contract the illness that led to his death?

A. Consumption from birth
B. Chill from repeated rain soakings
C. An infectious fever
D. Severe malnutrition

B. Chill from repeated rain soakings.
Pokrovski caught a chill from repeated soakings of rain while going out to canvass for posts in autumn.

26. What happened to the dead student Pokrovski’s belongings?

A. Makar burned them
B. They were given to his father
C. They were sold for medical bills
D. Anna Thedorovna seized them

D. Anna Thedorovna seized them.
Anna Thedorovna arranged the funeral and seized the dead man’s books as security for the coffin and hearse outlay.

27. What sight at the Fontanka Canal made the atmosphere sad and gloomy?

A. Rowdy sailors fighting
B. Dilapidated government boats
C. Old women selling damp wares
D. Children begging for food

C. Old women selling damp wares.
Old women selling damp gingerbread or withered apples looked as damp and dirty as their pitiful goods.

28. Who is Thedora in relation to Barbara?

A. Her cousin Sasha
B. Her landlady
C. Her kind housekeeper
D. Her former mistress

C. Her kind housekeeper.
Thedora is described as Barbara’s kind housekeeper/servant who makes the room a perfect sanctuary.

29. What is the name of the póor lodger whose child dies of scarlatina?

A. Markov
B. Gorshkov
C. Emelia
D. Phaldoni

B. Gorshkov.
The póor, frail tchinovnik Gorshkov and his wife suffered the death of their nine-year-old son.

30. What was the cause of Gorshkov’s dismissal from public service years ago?

A. Negligence in a Treasury fraud
B. Gambling debts
C. Stealing government ink
D. Habitual drunkenness

A. Negligence in a Treasury fraud.
He was involved in a legal suit where a merchant defrauded the Treasury, implicating Gorshkov in negligence.

31. What was the final resolution of Gorshkov’s long legal case?

A. He was ordered to pay a fine
B. He was partially forgiven
C. He was entirely absolved of guilt
D. He was reinstated with full pay

C. He was entirely absolved of guilt.
The final resolution was entirely in his favour, allowing him to recover a large sum of money.

32. What happens to Gorshkov shortly after hearing the good news?

A. He collapses from fever
B. He dies suddenly, like a stroke
C. He spends all his money
D. He leaves the city

B. He dies suddenly, like a stroke.
He lay down for a rest and died suddenly, as though smitten with a stroke, overwhelmed by the victory.

33. Who is Anna Thedorovna?

A. Barbara’s mother’s friend
B. A distant, judgmental relative
C. Makar’s gossip-loving landlady
D. A kind charity worker

B. A distant, judgmental relative.
Anna Thedorovna is a distant relative who gave them shelter but constantly reproached Barbara and her mother.

34. Who is the aristocratic gentleman seeking Barbara’s hand in marriage?

A. Markov
B. Pokrovski
C. Bwikov
D. Rataziaev

C. Bwikov.
Bwikov is the landowner who seeks to marry Barbara and take her to his country seat in the Steppes.

35. What is Bwikov’s stated primary motive for marrying Barbara?

A. To find true love
B. To restore her reputation
C. To gain a legal heir
D. To settle debts with Anna

C. To gain a legal heir.
He needs a legal heir quickly to disinherit his nephew, so he is seeking marriage to Barbara.

36. Where does Bwikov intend to live with Barbara after their wedding?

A. Moscow
B. St. Petersburg
C. The Steppes
D. Tula province

C. The Steppes.
He intends to take Barbara immediately to his country seat in the Steppes, where he plans to hunt hares.

37. What emotional state does Barbara confess to Makar that makes her feel better?

A. Reading his poetry
B. Working ceaselessly
C. Talking of her sorrow
D. Visiting the Islands

C. Talking of her sorrow.
When feeling sad, she finds relief in talking or writing about what is preying on her heart.

38. What does Makar confess was the result of his heavy drinking episode?

A. He fought Rataziaev
B. He was taken home by the police
C. He lost his office job
D. He pawned his chief’s gift

B. He was taken home by the police.
Thedora informed Barbara that Makar was discovered drunk in the street and subsequently taken home by the police.

39. What event immediately precedes Makar’s decision to drink and visit the officer?

A. Barbara rejected his gift
B. He learned of a suitor’s insult
C. He was fired by his chief
D. He lost money gambling

B. He learned of a suitor’s insult.
Hearing a rumour from Thedora that an unworthy suitor had insulted Barbara sent him into a frenzy.

40. What do Rataziaev’s friends give Makar’s nickname after the gossip?

A. The Fool
B. The Copyist
C. Lovelace
D. Makar

C. Lovelace.
Rataziaev called Makar “Lovelace” (meaning a clever fellow/gentleman) when joking about his supposed “amours”.

41. What type of garment does Barbara plan to make Makar herself?

A. A new scarf
B. A warm waistcoat
C. A fresh uniform
D. Woollen stockings

B. A warm waistcoat.
She mentions buying good material and making him a waistcoat herself.

42. Why does Barbara regret having to live in dependence upon Makar?

A. She thinks his food is bad
B. The thought tortures her
C. She fears Anna’s gossip
D. She misses her old home

B. The thought tortures her.
She says the thought of living in dependence upon him tortures her, making her desperate to find work.

43. What does Makar plan to do after Barbara leaves for the Steppes?

A. Move to Moscow
B. Go back to his old room
C. Rent Barbara’s empty room
D. Travel with Bwikov

C. Rent Barbara’s empty room.
He plans to move into Barbara’s empty quarters, which he intends to rent from Thedora.

44. What specific garment does Bwikov demand Barbara have three dozen of?

A. Linen blouses
B. Silk dresses
C. Fur cloaks
D. Woollen skirts

A. Linen blouses.
Bwikov requires Barbara to have at least three dozen linen blouses, rushing her to find seamstresses.

45. What does Makar notice Barbara had used one of his letters for?

A. To line a drawer
B. To clean the table
C. A spool for thread
D. A bookmark

C. A spool for thread.
While inspecting her empty room, he found a remnant of work and saw one of his letters used as a spool.

46. Who does Makar meet on the street who tries to show him a petition for help?

A. A frail old woman
B. A shoemaker artisan
C. A hungry little boy
D. An organ-grinder

C. A hungry little boy.
A boy of about ten, shivering and póorly clad, ran up to Makar and asked him to sign his petition for his sick mother.

47. What does Makar call the wealthy men who might seek Barbara’s favour if she were rich?

A. Vermin
B. Generals
C. Tchinovniks
D. Scoundrels

B. Generals.
Makar reflects that if Barbara were rich and riding in a carriage, Generals would have come seeking her favour.

48. What literary piece about a coat did Barbara send Makar?

A. The Station Overseer
B. A Portrait of Man
C. The Cloak
D. Ivik’s Storks

C. The Cloak.
Barbara mentions she sent Makar The Stories of Bielkin, which includes the story titled The Cloak.

49. Why does Bwikov become angry just before the wedding?

A. Barbara is too slow
B. The expenses are too high
C. Makar keeps interfering
D. His aunt passed away

B. The expenses are too high.
Bwikov loses his temper over the financial cost of the wedding preparations, saying the expenses “burn a hole in his pocket”.

50. What does Makar confess he is still writing for the sake of in his final letter?

A. To improve his prose
B. To express his eternal love
C. To put as much as possible in it
D. To delay her departure

C. To put as much as possible in it.
He states he is writing solely for the sake of writing and to fill up the last letter as much as he can.

Brief Overview

Póor Folk is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, published in 1846. The entire story is told through an exchange of letters, making it an epistolary novel. It is a social critique that details the dignity and despair of the Russian lower class.

The main correspondence is between Makar Dievushkin, an old government clerk, and his younger relative, Barbara Dobroselova. They live in cheap housing across a courtyard in St. Petersburg. Makar feels a deep, protective, and paternal love for Barbara.

Makar continually spends his small salary on gifts for Barbara, such as grapes and flowers, even though it pushes him into debt. Barbara is fully aware of his personal sacrifices; he often denies himself basic needs like new clothes and tea.

Barbara shares her unhappy past, including her parents and the death of a young student. She worries constantly about her future and her póor health. Makar faces regular mockery from his neighbours and colleagues for his poverty.

A wealthy but rough landowner named Bwikov proposes marriage to Barbara. He offers her stability and wealth. Barbara accepts Bwikov’s proposal, viewing the marriage as her only chance to escape poverty and sickness.

Makar is utterly heartbroken and begs her not to leave him. Barbara immediately departs with Bwikov, leaving Makar to face a desolate and lonely life.