52 pages • 1 hour read
Master and Man
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Quiz
Reading Check, Multiple Choice & Short Answer Quizzes
Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.
Reading Check
1. At what time of year does the story begin?
2. Who is Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov?
3. Who is Nikita?
4. What is Brekhunov’s “favorite occupation”?
5. Which village do Brekhunov and Nikita arrive in after losing their way while traveling from Grishkino?
6. How does Nikita respond when offered vodka by the family in Part IV?
7. Where do Brekhunov and Nikita sleep at the end of Part V?
8. What does Brekhunov mistake for a village as he rides his horse in the snow?
9. What does Nikita tell Brekhunov at the beginning of Part IX?
10. What happens to the horse in Part X?
11. How are the villagers able to find the sledge the next day?
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following best describes Nikita’s actions when he is sober compared to when he is drunk?
A) He is known as the town intellectual when he drinks, but when sober he is considered dull and boring.
B) He is quarrelsome when he drinks, but usually he is a pleasant laborer.
C) Regardless of his alcohol intake, he is a difficult and violent man.
D) Regardless of his alcohol intake, he is a gentle and peaceful man.
2. Which of the following best describes Nikita’s reaction to the peasants they pass on the road out of Grishkino?
A) He is delighted to encounter such merry fellow travelers.
B) He is concerned for the condition of their sledge.
C) He disapproves of their use of their horse and presumes them to be drunk.
D) He gives no thought to the peasants and merely navigates around them.
3. How does Brekhunov express his opinion about how Nikita settles in for their night in the snow?
A) He shakes his head with disapproval, since he believes Nikita is stupid.
B) He laughs at Nikita, since he thinks it ridiculous that he will sleep with the horse.
C) He shares his concerns for Nikita’s health, and encourages him to sleep in the sledge.
D) He ignores Nikita altogether, since he is simply a peasant.
4. In Part VI, what does Brekhunov’s inner monologue reveal about his character?
A) that he is a socially conscious, charitable individual
B) that he is a dutiful husband who loves his family dearly
C) that he is a self-absorbed and money-focused individual
D) that he is a caring man who values friendship above all
5. How does Brekhunov feel after responding to Nikita’s plight in the beginning of Part IX?
A) indifferent since he truly does not care for the well-being of this peasant
B) surprisingly joyful because he has helped Nikita
C) distracted by his own concerns as a landowner
D) scornful since he despises all peasants, even those who are as loyal as Nikita
Short-Answer Response
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. In the beginning of their journey, Brekhunov and Nikita encounter a major obstacle. What happens? How do the two men deal with this challenge?
2. At the beginning of Part IV, Tolstoy describes the family that Brekhunov and Nikita stay with the first night of their journey. Summarize Tolstoy’s description of this family.
3. At the end of Part IV, Tolstoy remarks that “Nikita did not wish to go at all, but he had been accustomed not to have his own way and to serve others for so long that there was no one to hinder the departing travelers.” What does this quote imply about Nikita’s status in society?
4. In Part V, there is a switch in power dynamics between Brekhunov and Nikita. What is this shift and what circumstances bring this change about?
5. At the end of Part VI, Brekhunov makes a statement regarding the value of his life compared to Nikita’s. What is this statement, and how does it inform his next decision?
6. Part VII shares Nikita’s perspective on the circumstances in the snow. How does Nikita feel about the possibility of death? What thoughts comfort him in these moments?
7. Describe what Brekhunov looks for, and what he finds, after leaving the sledge. What happens to the horse?
8. Summarize Brekhunov’s dream at the end of Part IX. What happens to him at the end of this dream sequence?
Quizzes – Answer Key
Reading Check
1. It is winter in the 1870s, specifically the day after St. Nicholas’s Day (Part I).
2. a land-owning merchant who is also a church elder (Part I)
3. a “habitual drunkard” who is a laborer for Brekhunov (Part I)
4. horse-dealing (Part II)
5. The horse brings them back to the same village: Grishkino (Part III).
6. He refuses the vodka and drinks tea instead (Part IV).
7. outside, near a ravine (Part V)
8. wormwood (Part VIII)
9. that he is dying (Part IX)
10. he dies (Part X)
11. from the kerchief tied to the sledge (Part X)
Multiple Choice
1. B (Part I)
2. C (Part III)
3. A (Part VI)
4. C (Part VI)
5. B (Part IX)
Short-Answer Response
1. The two men disagree on which road to take: Brekhunov wishes to take the “straight” road that is not as well marked, while Nikita suggests they take the more well-marked road. In the end, they follow Brekhunov’s suggestion; however, after some time they realize they have gone off the road and they are lost (Part II).
2. This family is one of the wealthiest in the village of Grishkino, with “five allotments,” and is one of the “few homesteads that remained undivided”; however, Tolstoy alludes to a possible future of disintegration and separation for the household (Part IV).
3. Nikita, as a servant, is used to others making the decisions and knows that, even if he expressed his wish to stay longer with the family, his wish would most likely not be granted (Part IV).
4. Nikita, who is a servant and is used to being told what to do, is now making decisions for himself and Brekhunov in order to reorient them and regain the correct path (Part V).
5. Brekhunov reasons that, unlike Nikita, he has something to live for, and therefore he should not wait in the snow for death. He takes the horse and rides off, leaving Nikita in the snow (Part VI).
6. Nikita is neutral on the prospect of death because “his whole life had been not a continual holiday, but on the contrary an unceasing round of toil of which he was beginning to feel weary.” After Brekhunov leaves him, Nikita reminds himself that he is not alone, but rather God (i.e., “the One”) is still with him (Part VII).
7. Brekhunov is unable to find a village and instead rides his horse in a circle. When Brekhunov dismounts the horse, it runs away, leaving Brekhunov to pray. He follows the horse’s tracks and it leads him back to his starting point: with Nikita and the sledge (Part VIII).
8. In his dream Brekhunov is waiting for someone, which is later understood to be death. When he wakes, he continues to feel joy as well as life through Nikita. He then considers why he was troubled with his material inheritance and, with joy and freedom, dies (Part IX).
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By Leo Tolstoy
