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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 news does the narrator receive from Saranza?

2. What does the narrator want of Mr. Bond?

3. How does Charlotte become pregnant?

4. What is the narrator learning with his class?

5. What does the narrator realize about Charlotte and himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator imagine Charlotte in France and what does he do that he does not usually do when preparing for her visit?

2. Why does the narrator feel guilty concerning his grandmother?

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

4. Why does the narrator hire a private detective?

5. How does Pashka feel about the narrator's new popularity and what does Pashka do about it?

6. Why does the narrator not call or write Charlotte after he finds her and what does he do while waiting to see her?

7. What story does the narrator relate to Pashka?

8. What happens when the narrator's mother goes for some medical tests?

9. How does Pashka almost drown once?

10. What does the narrator realize concerning his grandmother and France?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in "Dreams of My Russian Summers".

2. Trace and analyze one major theme of "Dreams of My Russian Summers". How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

3. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of "Dreams of My Russian Summers". How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

Essay Topic 2

Upon returning to Russia, the narrator dives into books about France and French history, spending entire days lost in the dust-covered volumes of the public library. His interest in French history has taken his attention away from other childhood things like sports and movies, which has made him a target for bullies in his school. The only person who treats the narrator kindly is a young man in school everyone considers to be a dunce. The narrator's position as an outsider in his school is important to note because the entire novel surrounds the narrator's struggle to discover where he fits in in the world - is he Russian or is he French?

1. Why do you think the narrator became so deeply immerged in studying France and French history? Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.

2. Do you think that a student who is very different from his or her classmates is always bullied or ostracized? Why or why not? Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.

3. Why do you think it was so important to the narrator to figure out if he fit into society in Russia or in France? Use examples from "Dreams of My Russian Summers" to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

"Dreams of My Russian Summers" belongs to the fictional memoir genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the fictional memoir genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a fictional memoir and a historical novel?

(see the answer keys)

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