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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Charlotte's response to the children's request?

2. What does Albertine leave behind?

3. Who does Charlotte once visit in a Russian village?

4. For what do the narrator and his sister stand in line?

5. When is the last time Charlotte speaks to Albertine?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the other childhood memories of Charlotte's that has left an impact on the narrator?

2. What story captures the narrator's imagination concerning Tsar Nicholas II?

3. What is the story does the narrator relate about Charlotte's rock collection?

4. What is the narrator allowed to do when he is 14?

5. How does Charlotte end up returning to Russia and what is her response when she arrives there?

6. What does Charlotte do during the war and how does she react to her work?

7. What is one of the childhood memories of Charlotte's that has left an impact on the narrator?

8. What impresses the narrator about his maternal grandfather?

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. How does missing a train save Charlotte and her children's lives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Over the course of "Dreams of My Russian Summers", the narrator grows as a person in both complexity and understanding. Dreams of My Russian Summers might be considered a slice of the narrator's larger story of his "coming of age." It might be said that Dreams of My Russian Summers is a "bildungsroman" of the narrator. Discuss the following:

1. Define Bildungsroman, or "Coming of Age," and give several examples from literature you have read.

2. Trace and analyze the character of the narrator as he changes from a more carefree, innocent boy to a wiser, young man. What are the significant events that change him?

3. After thoroughly analyzing the narrator's growth throughout "Dreams of My Russian Summers", do you think "Dreams of My Russian Summers" could be considered the narrator's Coming of Age story? Why or why not?

4. Are there any other characters in "Dreams of My Russian Summers" who go through a Coming of Age experience? Who? Why do you think so?

Essay Topic 2

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think "Dreams of My Russian Summers" is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

Essay Topic 3

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Andrei Makine.

2. What in Makine's background may have helped him in writing "Dreams of My Russian Summers"? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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