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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 Chapter 6, why there are only a few people at the housewarming party?

2. Before leaving Pnin's housewarming party, who tells him that he will probably lose his job at the college?

3. In Chapter 5, what do Pnin and the person he runs into before going on a swim talk about?

4. How old are most of the men attending the party in Chapter 5?

5. At the party in Chapter 5, who is the other man, beside Pnin, that is also considered a youngster?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Victor.

2. What happens to Pnin while traveling to the cabin in Chapter 5?

3. Why is Pnin somewhat sad after visiting with Betty Bliss?

4. What do Roza Shpolyanski and Pnin talk about at the party in Chapter 5?

5. What is Pnin worried that he might have broken at the end of Chapter 6?

6. What does Hagen tell Pnin before he leaves the party?

7. Where is Pnin living in Chapter 6 and how does he feel about it?

8. Where is the cabin located that Pnin is headed to at beginning of Chapter 5, and why is he going there?

9. Who is Al Cook's wife and why do they not have children?

10. Why does Liza decide to send Victor to school at St. Bartholomew's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pnin tells many stories throughout the action of the main story. Explore the author's use of the literary device story-within-a-story in the novel "Pnin".

Part 1) Is the author using stories-within-a-story to parody views of the world?

Part 2) Is the author using stories-within-a-story to give background about particular characters or events?

Part 3) How is this literary device effective in the novel "Pnin"?

Essay Topic 2

The story of Pnin can be enhanced by learning about the author of the book. Research the author Vladimir Nabokov, comparing him to the character of Professor Timofey Pnin. How are Pnin and Nabokov similar? How are Pnin and Nabokov different? Why would Nabokov write a book that clearly is very related to his own life? How is "Pnin" an indicator of Nabokov's life as an immigrant?

Essay Topic 3

Research the Bolshevik Revolution and study how it could have affected Pnin. What is a revolution? Why did the Bolshevik Revolution happen? What year did the Bolshevik Revolution occur? Who was Vladimir Lenin and what did he have to do with the Bolshevik Revolution? Why would Pnin want to leave Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution?

(see the answer keys)

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