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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. With whom does the narrator make love?

2. How does the narrator feel as he is wandering the streets near his temporary home?

3. What does the narrator realize about Charlotte?

4. Why does the narrator wander around France?

5. What does the narrator succeed in imagining?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the only person in the narrator's class who treats him kindly?

2. What does the narrator feel when he is staying in the tombs and what symptoms did he think he had?

3. Why does the narrator hire a private detective?

4. What does the narrator do about a place for Charlotte when she comes to visit?

5. What does the narrator do after he accidentally insults a girl at a dance?

6. What does the narrator learn from Mr. Bond about Charlotte in the last chapter?

7. How does the narrator's encounter with the girl with russet-colored hair occur and how does it work out between them?

8. Why does the narrator begin to write Charlotte's life and what does he want to know about her as he is writing?

9. What does the narrator relate about a man named Beria?

10. How does the narrator's interest in Russia cause him problems?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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