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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. Of Lolita’s tennis abilities, the narrator says in Part 2, Chapter 20 that one of the pearls of her game “was a short half-volley that Ned Litam had taught her” where?

2. What is the name of the “brisk, briskly rouged, blue-eyed widow who ran the motor court” in Part 2, Chapter 22?

3. H.H. tells Lolita in Part 2, Chapter 15 that she should watch her diet, telling her “The tour of your thigh, you know, should not exceed” what?

4. In what play does Miss Pratt say that Lolita must be allowed to participate in Part 2, Chapter 11?

5. When H.H. and Lolita leave for a road trip in Part 2, Chapter 15, H.H. tells the Beardsley School that he is consulting on a film in Hollywood dealing with what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Miss Pratt suggest regarding Lolita’s performance in the drama department in Part 2, Chapter 11? How does H.H. respond?

2. How does H.H. go about finding the missing Lolita in Part 2, Chapter 19?

3. How does the narrator describe the conflicts and resolutions between himself and Lolita in Part 2, Chapter 2?

4. How does the narrator characterize Lolita’s demeanor in Part 2, Chapter 1?

5. What does Miss Pratt advise H.H. regarding his stepdaughter’s sexual education in Part 2, Chapter 11?

6. How does H.H. describe his motivations for writing down this information in Part 2, Chapter 2? What does he describe?

7. Where does Lolita claim to have been during her absence in Part 2, Chapter 19? How does H.H. respond?

8. Where does H.H. meet the character named Rita in Part 2? How does he describe their relationship?

9. How does H.H. describe his friendship with Gaston Godin in Part 2? Why is H.H. not as concerned about Gaston as he is the other neighbors?

10. What does Miss Pratt inform H.H. about his stepdaughter’s performance at the Beardsley School in Part 2, Chapter 11?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss elements of symbolism and imagery in Lolita. What powerful symbols are present in the scene between Lolita and H.H. while her mother is at church in Part 1, Chapter 13? What does the narrator himself remark about this symbolism?

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 H.H. as an unreliable narrator in describing his sexual encounter with Lolita in Part 1. What do you think the reality of the situation is for the girl? How would the story differ if it were told from Lolita’s point of view? Why does Nabokov choose to tell the story from H.H.’s perspective?

(see the answer keys)

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