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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 this section (Lines 597-608), Charles Kinbote spies on a conversation between John Shade and whom?

2. Whose spirit supposedly haunts the barn?

3. Who circulated a letter objecting to Charles Kinbote editing "Pale Fire?"

4. How many times did Kinbote find Zembla directly mentioned?

5. John Shade says, "There's nothing wrong with shedding a dismal past to substitute pleasing _________?"

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kinbote respond when a professor tells him he looks like King Charles? Why might he react that way?

2. Why does Kinbote insist on meeting Shade on July 19th?

3. Comment on a few similarities between Charles Kinbote and King Charles.

4. What do you think of Kinbote's disregard for psychoanalysis?

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

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

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

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

9. Briefly summarize the conversation Kinbote overhears between Shade and Mrs. Hurley, and its relevance to "Pale Fire."

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

The first lines of the poem "Pale Fire" portrays a bird flying into a window. Charles Kinbote interprets these lines as they may relate to John Shade's experience.

How is Charles Kinbote like a bird who flies into a window?

Essay Topic 3

Write an argument supporting the claim that Charles Kinbote is in fact the assassin. Use examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 702 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample