1. B. “the wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a french girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him.”
2. D. Tolstoy uses a variety of sentence structures to convey a sense of chaos in the passage.
3. E. It supports the theme by sharply contrasting Stepan and his wife’s separate experiences of the same situation.
4. C. She is a flat character because she is defined by her response to her husband’s behavior.
5. E. detached
6. E. He shows readers how Stepan reacts through his inner thoughts.
7. This response is subjective and will vary based on the passage.
8. B. exposition
9. B. order of the events in the passage
10. D. "‘Matvey, my sister Anna Arkadyevna will be here tomorrow,’" he said, checking for a minute the sleek, plump hand of the barber, cutting a pink path through his long, curly whiskers.”
11. C. Stepan struggles to understand his wife.
12. D. Tolstoy uses dialogue sparingly, when conversation comes naturally.
use the passage to answer the question.
which sentence best supports the theme “actions have consequences”?
A. “happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
B. “the wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a french girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him.”
C. “he turned over his stout, well-cared-for person on the springy sofa, as though he would sink into a long sleep again; he vigorously embraced the pillow on the other side and buried his face in it; but all at once he jumped up, sat up on the sofa, and opened his eyes.”
D. “‘yes, alabin was giving a dinner on glass tables, and the tables sang, il mio tesoro—not il mio tesoro though, but something better, and there were some sort of little decanters on the table, and they were women, too,’ he remembered.”
E. “and, as he had done every day for the last nine years, he stretched out his hand, without getting up, towards the place where his dressing-gown always hung in his bedroom.”
Use the passage to answer the question.
Based on the excerpt, what is a distinct feature of Tolstoy’s style?
A. Tolstoy uses figurative language to contrast with the realistic setting.
B. Tolstoy uses coordinating conjunctions to build the novel’s tension.
C. Tolstoy uses everyday, ungrammatical language to put readers into Stepan’s mindset.
D. Tolstoy uses a variety of sentence structures to convey a sense of chaos in the passage.
E. Tolstoy uses specific diction with negative connotations to develop Stepan as an unlikable character.
Use the passage to answer the question. Read the following paragraphs. “Most unpleasant of all was the first minute when, on coming, happy and good-humored, from the theater, with a huge pear in his hand for his wife, he had not found his wife in the drawing-room, to his surprise had not found her in the study either, and saw her at last in her bedroom with the unlucky letter that revealed everything in her hand. She, his Dolly, forever fussing and worrying over household details, and limited in her ideas, as he considered, was sitting perfectly still with the letter in her hand, looking at him with an expression of horror, despair, and indignation.” What is the effect of the introspective narration on the theme “actions have consequences”?
A. It develops the theme by highlighting Stepan’s surprised reaction.
B. It strengthens the theme by showing that Stepan does not love his wife.
C. It develops the theme by highlighting the idea that Stepan does not respect his wife.
D. It builds on the theme by conveying Stepan’s sense of indifference over his wife’s emotions.
E. It supports the theme by sharply contrasting Stepan and his wife’s separate experiences of the same situation.
Use the passage to answer the question. Which statement best describes the character of Dolly in this excerpt?
A. She is a dynamic character because she expresses strong emotions.
B. She is a round character because the reader receives only hints of her personality.
C. She is a flat character because she is defined by her response to her husband’s behavior.
D. She is both flat and dynamic because she takes a single, decisive action.
E. She is both round and dynamic because the reader is encouraged to sympathize with her.
Use the passage to answer the question.
Read the following sentences.
“The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her; the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time; the kitchen-maid, and the coachman had given warning.” What tone do these sentences help develop?
A. upset
B. angry
C. nervous
D. reluctant
E. detached
Use the passage to answer the question. How does Tolstoy develop the theme of “actions have consequences”?
A. He emphasizes how upset Stepan’s children are.
B. He describes what happens to the governess
C. He highlights Dolly’s feelings toward her husband.
D. He showcases how happy Stepan and Dolly once were.
E. He shows readers how Stepan reacts through his inner thoughts.
Use the passage to answer the question.
Assess the passage written by Tolstoy. Write one paragraph describing two strengths or weaknesses of his writing style. Be sure to support your response with details from the text that are relevant to narrative technique, character development, and other elements of fiction.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
The first paragraph is an example of which narrative plot element?
A. climax
B. exposition
C. resolution
D. rising action
E. falling action
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Which of the following details would serve best in a summary of the passage?
A. quotes from the passage
B. order of the events in the passage
C. opinion of the passage’s literary merit
D. an explanation of the theme of the passage
E. a reaction to the characters of the passage
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Which quote best contributes to Tolstoy’s style of emphasizing small, everyday details?
A. “He had never clearly thought out the subject, but he had vaguely conceived that his wife must long ago have suspected him of being unfaithful to her, and shut her eyes to the fact.”
B. “‘Oh, it’s awful! oh dear, oh dear! awful!’ Stepan Arkadyevitch kept repeating to himself, and he could think of nothing to be done.”
C. “To forget himself in sleep was impossible now, at least till nighttime; he could not go back now to the music sung by the decanter-women; so he must forget himself in the dream of daily life.”
D. "‘Matvey, my sister Anna Arkadyevna will be here tomorrow,’" he said, checking for a minute the sleek, plump hand of the barber, cutting a pink path through his long, curly whiskers.”
E. “‘Thank God!’ said Matvey, showing by this response that he, like his master, realized the significance of this arrival—that is, that Anna Arkadyevna, the sister he was so fond of, might bring about a reconciliation between husband and wife.”
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
“Possibly he might have managed to conceal his sins better from his wife if he had anticipated that the knowledge of them would have had such an effect on her. He had never clearly thought out the subject, but he had vaguely conceived that his wife must long ago have suspected him of being unfaithful to her, and shut her eyes to the fact.”
What do these sentences reveal about Stepan’s character?
A. Stepan is an introspective person.
B. Stepan is not afraid of consequences.
C. Stepan struggles to understand his wife.
D. Stepan does not care if he hurts his wife.
E. Stepan has fallen in love with another woman
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Which sentence best describes how Tolstoy uses dialogue in this passage?
A. Tolstoy uses dialogue frequently to develop character.
B. Tolstoy uses dialogue evenly to balance the narration.
C. Tolstoy uses dialogue frequently to convey strong emotion.
D. Tolstoy uses dialogue sparingly, when conversation comes naturally.
E. Tolstoy uses dialogue sparingly, mostly to express important occurrences.
3 answers
Chapter 1 of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl, who had been a governess in their family, and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house with him. This position of affairs had now lasted three days, and not only the husband and wife themselves, but all the members of their family and household, were painfully conscious of it. Every person in the house felt that there was no sense in their living together, and that the stray people brought together by chance in any inn had more in common with one another than they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys. The wife did not leave her own room, the husband had not been at home for three days. The children ran wild all over the house; the English governess quarreled with the housekeeper, and wrote to a friend asking her to look out for a new situation for her; the man-cook had walked off the day before just at dinner time; the kitchen-maid, and the coachman had given warning. Three days after the quarrel, Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky—Stiva, as he was called in the fashionable world—woke up at his usual hour, that is, at eight o’clock in the morning, not in his wife’s bedroom, but on the leather-covered sofa in his study. He turned over his stout, well-cared-for person on the springy sofa, as though he would sink into a long sleep again; he vigorously embraced the pillow on the other side and buried his face in it; but all at once he jumped up, sat up on the sofa, and opened his eyes. "Yes, yes, how was it now?" he thought, going over his dream. "Now, how was it? To be sure! Alabin was giving a dinner at Darmstadt; no, not Darmstadt, but something American. Yes, but then, Darmstadt was in America. Yes, Alabin was giving a dinner on glass tables, and the tables sang, Il mio tesoro—not Il mio tesoro though, but something better, and there were some sort of little decanters on the table, and they were women, too," he remembered. 5 Stepan Arkadyevitch’s eyes twinkled gaily, and he pondered with a smile. "Yes, it was nice, very nice. There was a great deal more that was delightful, only there’s no putting it into words, or even expressing it in one’s thoughts awake." And noticing a gleam of light peeping in beside one of the serge curtains, he cheerfully dropped his feet over the edge of the sofa, and felt about with them for his slippers, a present on his last birthday, worked for him by his wife on gold-colored morocco. And, as he had done every day for the last nine years, he stretched out his hand, without getting up, towards the place where his dressing-gown always hung in his bedroom. And thereupon he suddenly remembered that he was not sleeping in his wife’s room, but in his study, and why: the smile vanished from his face, he knitted his brows. "Ah, ah, ah! Oo!..." he muttered, recalling everything that had happened. And again every detail of his quarrel with his wife was present to his imagination, all the hopelessness of his position, and worst of all, his own fault. "Yes, she won’t forgive me, and she can’t forgive me. And the most awful thing about it is that it’s all my fault—all my fault, though I’m not to blame. That’s the point of the whole situation," he reflected. "Oh, oh, oh!" he kept repeating in despair, as he remembered the acutely painful sensations caused him by this quarrel. Most unpleasant of all was the first minute when, on coming, happy and good-humored, from the theater, with a huge pear in his hand for his wife, he had not found his wife in the drawing-room, to his surprise had not found her in the study either, and saw her at last in her bedroom with the unlucky letter that revealed everything in her hand. She, his Dolly, forever fussing and worrying over household details, and limited in her ideas, as he considered, was sitting perfectly still with the letter in her hand, looking at him with an expression of horror, despair, and indignation. 10 "What’s this? this?" she asked, pointing to the letter. And at this recollection, Stepan Arkadyevitch, as is so often the case, was not so much annoyed at the fact itself as at the way in which he had met his wife’s words. There happened to him at that instant what does happen to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very disgraceful. He did not succeed in adapting his face to the position in which he was placed towards his wife by the discovery of his fault. Instead of being hurt, denying, defending himself, begging forgiveness, instead of remaining indifferent even—anything would have been better than what he did do—his face utterly involuntarily (reflex spinal action, reflected Stepan Arkadyevitch, who was fond of physiology)—utterly involuntarily assumed its habitual, good-humored, and therefore idiotic smile. This idiotic smile he could not forgive himself. Catching sight of that smile, Dolly shuddered as though at physical pain, broke out with her characteristic heat into a flood of cruel words, and rushed out of the room. Since then she had refused to see her husband. "It’s that idiotic smile that’s to blame for it all," thought Stepan Arkadyevitch. 15 "But what’s to be done? What’s to be done?" he said to himself in despair, and found no answer.
7. Use the passage to answer the question.
Assess the passage written by Tolstoy. Write one paragraph describing two strengths or weaknesses of his writing style. Be sure to support your response with details from the text that are relevant to narrative technique, character development, and other elements of fiction.
7. Use the passage to answer the question.
Assess the passage written by Tolstoy. Write one paragraph describing two strengths or weaknesses of his writing style. Be sure to support your response with details from the text that are relevant to narrative technique, character development, and other elements of fiction.
One strength of Tolstoy's writing style in this passage is his use of vivid and descriptive language to create a clear picture of the characters and their surroundings. For example, he describes the Oblonskys' house being in "confusion" and the children running wild all over the house. This helps to paint a chaotic and disorganized atmosphere that reflects the unhappy state of the family. Another strength is Tolstoy's use of introspective narration to convey the thoughts and emotions of the characters. Through Stepan Arkadyevitch's inner thoughts, we gain insight into his feelings of despair, guilt, and regret. This adds depth to the character and allows the reader to empathize with his struggles. However, a weakness in Tolstoy's writing style may be the occasional lack of clarity or cohesion in the narrative. There are moments where the passage jumps abruptly from one thought or scene to another, which can be disorienting for the reader. Additionally, Tolstoy's use of stream-of-consciousness narration may make it difficult for some readers to follow the sequence of events and understand the relationships between the characters. Overall, Tolstoy's strengths lay in his vivid descriptions and introspective character development, while his weaknesses may lie in occasional lack of clarity and cohesion.
1 answer