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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. In the final line of Part 1, Chapter 1, the narrator addresses the “ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” saying “Look at this tangle of” what?

2. What is the name of the camp that Charlotte Haze is sending Lolita to in Part 1, Chapter 15?

3. Charlotte tells H.H. in Part 1, Chapter 18 that if he “did not believe in Our Christian God, she would” do what?

4. What girl does Lolita say “instructed her in various manipulations” at camp in Part 1, Chapter 32?

5. What is the name of the dentist that Mrs. Haze uses that is also her neighbor in Part 1, Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does H.H. respond to Charlotte’s suggestion of going to England in Part 1, Chapter 21?

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

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

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

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

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

9. What does H.H. discover about his reservation when he arrives at the Enchanted Hunters Inn in Part 1, Chapter 27?

10. How does H.H. describe his young adulthood in Part 1, Chapter 5? How does he define “nymphets” in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Define “narrative point of view” and analyze the narrative perspective of Lolita. How does the novel’s Foreword establish who the narrator of Part 1 will be? Does H.H. relate his story in the present or past tense? How reliable a narrator is Humbert Humbert?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author’s use of literary allusion in the novel. What does the character of Annabel Leigh allude to? How does H.H.’s use of allusion help to establish his character? What authors are cited the most and why?

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