Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Leo Tolstoy is one of the most famous authors in Russian literature. Writing many of his most prominent works during the mid-to-late 19th century, Tolstoy is considered to be highly influential to modern writers and thinkers alike. Read a couple of reference articles about Tolstoy and provide a very brief summary of his life. What were the main themes he touched upon in his writings? How was he an influential figure?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question centers on a broad overview of Tolstoy’s life. Students should use their research and analytical skills to identify the most important aspects of Tolstoy’s biography and answer the questions. Instead of asking students to locate reference articles on their own, you may wish to direct them to the two high-quality articles below.

• This article from Oxford Bibliographies provides a general overview of Tolstoy’s works.
• This article from Britannica provides a thorough biography of Tolstoy’s life.

2. One of the most prominent themes explored in Russian literature is the social hierarchy of classes, a theme that in part relates to the abolishment of the landowning system, known as serfdom, in Russia during the 19th century.