The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin

Study Questions

1. Would you say that madness is an important theme in this short story?

2. Did Germann’s vision arise from his nature or did he actually come in contact with another world, the world of spirits?

3. What are Germann’s choices? Goals? Is he a good person?

4. How does this story present the supernatural?

5. Was Germann’s vision real? (the three cards worked!)

6. How should we interpret Germann’s madness? Is it de-valorized or extolled by Pushkin?

7. Why does Germann lose in the end?

Bela by Mikhail Lermontov

Study Questions

1. Who is Pechorin? Why is he a hero? What are his most salient characteristics?

2. Do we trust the narrator?

3. Do any features of this character apply to our time?

The Nose and The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol

Study questions

1. Is the Nose from Gogol’s eponymous short story an organ belonging to Kovaliov or an entity in its own right? Find examples to support your opinion.

2. Do you agree that the Nose plays the role of Major Kovaliov’s double? How does Gogol draw a parallel between these two characters?

3. Absurdity is Gogol’s turf, a most salient feature of his style. Find examples of absurdity in the short stories “Nose” and “The Overcoat.”

4. What kind of a narrator tells the story of Akkakii Akkakievich? Is this narrator earnest? Is he informative? What do you learn about this character? What kind of tone does the narrator create? How is this narrative tone different from those of “The Queen of Spades” and “Bela”?

5. In what way does the plot of “The Overcoat” differ from those of “The Queen of Spades” and “Bela”?

6. This short story is called “The Overcoat.” Why is this garment so important? Is it indeed about a piece of clothing?

The Death of Ivan Il’ich by Leo Tolstoy

Study questions

1. “The Death of Ivan Il’ich” is considered to be Tolstoy’s masterpiece. Would you agree with this assessment?

2. Why in your opinion does this short story begin with a funeral?

3. Would you say that Tolstoy’s treatment of the theme of death is Christian?

4. Is Ivan Il’ich’s life of any importance? Or is this short story predominantly about death and dying?

A Gentle Creature by Fedor Dostoevsky

Study Questions

1. Dostoevsky claims that his short story “A Gentle Creature” is a fantasy. Do you agree with him? In what way if any is this short story fantastic?

2. What is this short story about? What are its themes? Would you say that it is a love story?

3. Who in your opinion is the main character of the short story “A Gentle Creature”?

4. Would you say that the narrator is an outstanding person? In which ways does he stand out?

5. What is the goal of his narration? Who is he talking to? And what for?

6. Why did the Gentle One committ suicide?

7. How did the death of the Gentle One impact her husband?

8. Why does the narrator evoke in the end the image of the dead Sun?

The Strange Story by Ivan Turgenev

Study Questions:

1. Why is this story strange? Is the ending predictable?

2. Who is Vasilii in the beginning and in the end of the story? Did he change?

3. Why did Sofi decide to become a disciple of a holy fool?

4. Why in your opinion did Turgenev write this short story?

Four short stories by Anton Chekhov, The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, About Love and The Lady with the Dog

1. What can we say about the narrators of these four stories written by Chekhov?

2. Why (for what reason/with what purpose) are the first three stories told?

3. Would you say that Burkin is a reliable narrator and that his account about Belikov is accurate? Which, if any, of his statements seem questionable to you?

4. Why did Belikov begin to court Varenka?

5. What caused Belikov’s death?

6. Why did the narrator, Burkin, state that Belikov’s death did not bring about any changes? What kind of changes did he expect?

7. Comment on the endings of these four stories. What kind of ‘conclusion(s)’ do the narrators provide to their stories?

8. Why does Ivan Ivanovich disapprove of his brother Nikolai’s choices and opinions? Why does he question and even condemn Nikolai’s happiness?

9. Is Ivan Ivanovich a reliable narrator?

10. Why was the story about Nikolai (and gooseberries) a disappointment? Why was it not appreciated by the audience (Burkin and Alekhin)?

11. What does the guilty verdict in an arson case tell us about Luganovich and his wife, Anna Alekseevna?

12. Can we take Alekhin’s story of unrequited love at face value? What makes us question his statements?

13. Is there a connection between the three short stories, "The Man in a Case," "Gooseberries" and "About Love"? Why are they considered a trilogy?

14. Where is Chekhov in these stories? Do we have an access to the author’s voice?

15. Who are the main characters of the short story "The Lady with the Dog"? How are they portrayed?

16. How does their love affair grow to become love?

17. What, if anything, makes them attractive to the reader?

18. In the end we are told that Gurov and Anna Sergeevna “loved one another … as husband and wife.” How do you understand this statement, especially in the light of both characters’ failed marriages?