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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. Why did King Charles' marriage fail?

2. What Kinbote thought was an amusement park outside is actually what?

3. In what state does Kinbote arrive as Shade begins his last batch of index cards?

4. According to Kinbote, who gives Gradus a ride?

5. Kinbote claims some people on campus said he resembles which of the following people?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is ironic about Kinbote criticizing Shade for using a title from another work for one of his own books?

2. How does Kinbote summarize Canto Four?

3. What is significant about the way Shade relates his name to the word "ombre" a French word that connotes shadows and darkness?

4. Briefly recount Gradus' experience on the day he killed Shade, as told by Kinbote.

5. What is odd about the way Kinbote tells the story of Gradus?

6. What does Kinbote think about John Shade's lack of religion?

7. How does Gradus learn the location of the king?

8. What happens when Gradus and his commanders try to send coded messages?

9. What does Kinbote do when he runs into Shade on the way to the doctor's office?

10. What does Kinbote write about in the commentary as the poem addresses Hazel's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the way Charles Kinbote portrays himself vs. the way he is viewed by others. Based on his actions, how would you describe the "real" Charles Kinbote? Based on your description of Kinbote, and the difference in the way he is perceived by others compared to his view of himself, write an essay commenting on Nabokov's choice to have a person like this narrate the story instead of writing the novel with a third-person omniscient narrator describing Kinbote, his treatment of "Pale Fire" and his relationships with the other characters in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

On page 156, in the commentary to Line 172, John Shade bemoans the way most of his students read and interpret literature.

Relate Shade's thoughts in the final paragraph on page 156 to the way Kinbote interprets the poem "Pale Fire."

How does Kinbote respond to Shade's commentary?

What does this tell us about Kinbote?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the way Nabokov uses flashbacks in the novel Pale Fire. How many instances are there? How do flashbacks help propel the plot? How would this story have been different if it were written in present tense?

(see the answer keys)

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