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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. Where did Annabel die?

2. The narrator states in Part 1, Chapter 1, “You can always count on a murderer for” what?

3. How many years her senior does Charlotte Haze say her late husband was in Part 1, Chapter 16?

4. Where does H.H. say Valeria moved with her lover and took part in experiments by an American ethnologist?

5. How does H.H. remove a speck from Lolita’s eye in Part 1, Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. What written work does H.H. present in Part 1, Chapter 11? What is revealed through this text?

2. What conversation do H.H. and Lolita have regarding her mother when he arrives at camp in Part 1, Chapter 27?

3. Why does H.H. visit his “family doctor” in Part 1, Chapter 22? What does he obtain there?

4. What leads to H.H.’s initial thoughts of murdering Charlotte in Part 1, Chapter 20?

5. What events lead to H.H. and Lolita being alone together in the house in Part 1, Chapter 13? How does he describe their meeting in the house?

6. What does H.H. discover outside after receiving Leslie Tomson’s phone call in Part 1, Chapter 22?

7. How does H.H. succeed in drugging Lolita in Part 1, Chapter 27?

8. How would you characterize H.H. as narrator of the story, based on his language style in Part 1, Chapters 1-6?

9. How does H.H. characterize his domestic life with Charlotte after marriage in Part 1, Chapter 18?

10. How is H.H.’s second marriage and wedding night described in Part 1, Chapter 18?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss H.H.’s intentions and thoughts about murdering Charlotte. How does he portend to commit this act? What stops him? What observations does he make regarding pedophiles and murderers? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the publication history of Lolita, controversies after its publication, the banning of the novel, and the criticism, biography, and works of author Vladimir Nabokov. Where did Nabokov choose to first have Lolita published? Why? How did critics respond to the controversial subject matter of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author’s development of sexual tension in Part 1, Chapters 1-12. How is the sexual tension between Lolita and H.H. illustrated? Given that H.H. is a subjective narrator, how reliable do you think his depictions are of Lolita’s actions?

(see the answer keys)

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