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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 is the assassin's real name?

2. According to Kinbote, where did Sybil Shade relocate to upon John Shade's death?

3. Who does Kinbote blame for not receiving an invitation to John Shade's birthday party?

4. Which of the following best describes John Shade's daughter?

5. John Shade's daughter is how old at the beginning of Canto Three?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe John Shade's daughter.

2. What was the original use of the secret passageway in the Zemblan castle? Where does it lead?

3. What are some early examples of reflection as a theme in the poem "Pale Fire?"

4. Briefly describe Fleur.

5. Cite an early clue that Charles Kinbote is an unreliable narrator.

6. How does Charles Kinbote portray himself in the foreword?

7. How are Gradus and Kinbote similar?

8. How does John Shade describe himself as a youth in Canto One?

9. Does it surprise you that John Shade renounces religion yet he wants to believe in the after-life?

10. How does John Shade understand life?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At what point in the novel did you suspect Charles Kinbote was not mentally sound?

How does his dementia progress throughout the novel?

How does his grasp of reality change the way you perceive the events of the novel?

Do you think Zembla is a real place in the world created by Nabokov in Pale Fire, or a figment of Charles Kinbote's imagination?

Essay Topic 2

Make a list of names Charles Kinbote attributes to people and places in Zembla.

What do you notice about these names?

What do these names tell us about Kinbote, and potentially about Zembla?

Why do you think Nabokov chose to name these places the way he did?

Essay Topic 3

Using specific examples from the book, describe how Nabokov uses color and climate to describe the setting and characters in Pale Fire, both in the poem and in the commentary.

Do you think this is effective? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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