Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How does the narrator see his country for the first time from an outsider?
2. What does Albertine's family not understand?
3. How does the narrator take it upon himself to continue his information-gathering about Russia and France?
4. Who is teased ruthlessly in school?
5. What was the nickname of Nicholas II at the time the narrator is in school?
Short Essay Questions
1. What is Charlotte's relationship to Gavrilych?
2. About what do others continue to speculate?
3. What is the other childhood memories of Charlotte's that has left an impact on the narrator?
4. What is one of the childhood memories of Charlotte's that has left an impact on the narrator?
5. How does Sergei find another way for the family to flee and what does Charlotte realize as they do so?
6. What happens after Fyodor is arrested?
7. What does the narrator say his grandmother does when the narrator looks at the photo of the scruffy woman?
8. How does missing a train save Charlotte and her children's lives?
9. Where does the narrator go for the summer and what is a tale she relates to the narrator on his first night there?
10. Why does the narrator become outraged?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
There are a number of interesting questions raised by "Dreams of My Russian Summers". Questions that Makine most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:
1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?
2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Makine's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Makine's probable agenda concerning that idea.
2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?
3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?
4. Research the life of Makine and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.
Essay Topic 2
The relationship between the narrator and his grandmother has changed completely, due in part to the narrator's age since he is now entering his teenage years. He doesn't feel like he can connect to Charlotte's fairy tale stories about France any more because he knows the gritty truth about French history thanks to his studies. When Charlotte attempts to create the magical world of Atlantis for the narrator, he finds himself drifting off, not listening to the stories, imagining another world, further away from his grandmother than he's ever felt before. Charlotte recognizes the change, too, and soon their conversations about the past disappear.
1. Discuss why you think the narrator's change in age changed his relationship with his grandmother. Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.
2. How do you think the separation between the narrator and his grandmother affected her emotionally? Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.
3. Do you think knowing the truth about a country will always cause a person to not want to listen to possible fantasy stories about that countries? Why or why not? Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.
Essay Topic 3
The narration creates a sense of mystery, engaging the reader in the narrator's quest for truth. In this case, there are two different truths - what happened to Charlotte, and where does the narrator fit?
1. Explain what you think the above statements mean. Use examples from the text to support your answer.
2. Using just the text from the first chapter, argue whether the search for who is Charlotte is the most important aspect of the story or the problems of who the narrator is.
3. Explain what about the sense of mystery in the first chapter goaded you to continue reading the book. Use examples from the text to support your answer.
|
This section contains 1,188 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
