Question
This work warns an “apostle of ignorance, champion of obscurantism [and] panegyrist of Tartar morals” that he is “standing on the brink of an abyss.” For 10 points each:
[10h] Identify this document that lambastes the conservative mysticism of the Selected Passages of its addressee, who died of self-starvation with leeches hanging off his nose soon after reading it.
ANSWER: Belinsky’s “Letter to Gogol” [accept descriptions of an open letter from Vassarion Belinsky to Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol; prompt on “Letter to Gogol” by asking “by whom?”]
[10e] For discussing Belinsky’s letter, the Petrashevsky Circle was subjected to a theatrical mock execution, then given this punishment. The circle’s member Fyodor Dostoevsky depicted it in The House of the Dead.
ANSWER: being sent to Siberia [or katorga; accept descriptions mentioning Siberia; accept Sibir’ in place of “Siberia”; prompt on exile, imprisonment, transportation, hard labor, penal colony, or prison camp]
[10m] Before breaking with both, Belinsky lauded Dostoevsky as the “new Gogol” after reading this debut novel of his. In this novel, Makar Devushkin is outraged by the portrayal of his condition in Gogol’s “The Overcoat.”
ANSWER: Poor Folk [or Bednye lyudi; or Poor People]
<JB, European Literature>
Data
Summary
| Tournament | Edition | Exact Match? | Heard | PPB | Easy % | Medium % | Hard % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Chicago Open | 07/28/2024 | Y | 9 | 14.44 | 89% | 56% | 0% |