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.