Resurrection Exam Questions

These questions could very well appear on the Resurrection exam tomorrow. The test will probably be two questions. You could even post thoughts/questions comments here. I might even answer.

1. Jimi Hendrix once wrote, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.", and Tolstoy wrote, "All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do." Using examples from the novel, explain how Tolstoy makes the argument of these quotations.

2. Realism is defined as "a depiction of existence as it appears, without euphemism or evasion; evokes the idea that the things or occurrence that are portrayed may actually exist." What makes Resurrection an effective realist text? Does the use of realism detract or enhance from the depiction of Russian life at the turn of the 20th century?

3. A recurring theme in literature is “the classic war between passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some emotion or drive, may conflict with moral duty. A character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. Demonstrate how the nature of a conflict like this is at the center of Resurrection, and how it illustrates the central message of the novel.

4. Analyze the following quotation:

And all this terrible change had come about simply because he had ceased to put his faith in his own conscience and had taken to trusting in others. And he had ceased to trust himself and begun to believe in others because life was too difficult if one believed one's own conscience: believing in oneself, every question had to be decided, never to the advantage of one's animal self, which seeks easy gratifications, but in almost every case against it. But to believe in others meant that there was nothing to decide: everything had been decided already, and always in favor of the animal I and against the spiritual. Moreover, when he trusted his own conscience he was always laying himself open to criticism, whereas now, trusting others, he received the approval of those around him.