View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What subject do both Mike Gold and F. Scott Fitzgerald write about?
(a) Loss, specifically the loss of innocence.
(b) The value in being poor.
(c) Dreams, specifically the American Dream.
(d) The morality of the wealthy.

2. Why does Nafisi say the dream in "The Great Gatsby" is not a comment on America as a materialistic county?
(a) The dream represents Nick's inability to be honest as a narrator.
(b) Because the dream is about what one can become, not about money.
(c) Because "The Great Gatsby" is about wanting to be richer than your neighbors.
(d) Because the novel does not include any rich characters.

3. In Part 3, Chapter 9, what author does Nafisi discuss with the magician?
(a) Hammett.
(b) Twain.
(c) Shakespeare.
(d) Nabokov.

4. Why does Nafisi form a friendship with Jeff?
(a) Because her relationship with her husband is strained, and she is lonely.
(b) They are both actively demonstrating against the Iranian government.
(c) They both enjoy having a friend who speaks English and has memories of America.
(d) Jeff is one of her best students, and they enjoy discussing literature together.

5. To what does Manna compare her fictional self?
(a) A steady green light.
(b) A strong tree.
(c) A Rodin statue.
(d) A beautiful memory.

6. Who is Mr. Bahir?
(a) The department chair of the Language Department at the University of Tehran.
(b) One of Nafisi's students.
(c) The owner of her favorite bookstore.
(d) A man executed for charges of being too Westernized.

7. What does Nyazi consider to be a positive aspect of "The Great Gatsby"?
(a) It exposes the immorality of American society.
(b) It describes the way society should function.
(c) It provides a model of a good marriage relationship.
(d) It presents the American Dream.

8. What do Nafisi and the magician share on their first meeting in his apartment?
(a) Newspapers from foreign countries.
(b) Tea and a box of foreign chocolates.
(c) Coffee and books.
(d) A foreign movie.

9. Why does Yassi walk faster then suddenly stop when she is out with a gentleman caller?
(a) She wants to avoid spending much time with the gentleman caller, then realizes that he is a good match.
(b) She wants to see if he understands the game and would be a good match for her.
(c) She is surprised by the police who make her afraid, then she realizes that the gentleman will help protect her.
(d) She is trying to escape the chaperones, but finally realizes it is useless.

10. How does Nafisi feel when she hears the announcement that Iraq has attacked Iran?
(a) Unhappy, because she realizes what war will do to her friends and family.
(b) Ambivalent, both angry and full of love and desire to protect her home country.
(c) Relieved that someone will finally help end the political situation in her home country.
(d) Nervous, because she is afraid that she will be killed during the impending war.

11. Where is the narrator at the beginning of the first chapter in Part II?
(a) At the University of Tehran.
(b) In her apartment in Tehran.
(c) In graduate school in the United States.
(d) At the Tehran airport.

12. What project is Nassrin working on?
(a) Translating English texts into Persian.
(b) Reading all the works of Islamic leaders.
(c) A thesis on the works of the Ayatollah Khomeini.
(d) Translating Islamic texts into English.

13. Who are the Mujahedeen?
(a) The leaders of the University of Tehran.
(b) A group called the Party of Allah.
(c) A radical religious organization that claims to be the spiritual and political heir of the deceased Ayatollah Taleghani.
(d) The members of a radical student organization at the University of Tehran.

14. In Part 3, Chapter 13, what does Nafisi get on the first day she begins teaching?
(a) A visit from the religious leaders.
(b) A bouquet of flowers.
(c) A cup of coffee from her mother.
(d) An obscene message.

15. What does Nafisi teach during her first semester as a professor at the University of Tehran?
(a) A large seminar called Research.
(b) A large seminar using banned books.
(c) Classes in English as a Second Language.
(d) A small study group related to the works of Nabokov.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Nassrin after she leaves Iran?

2. What does Nafisi do with help from Mr. Forsati?

3. In Part 3, Chapter 19, where does Nafisi go?

4. Why do the students begin to keep vigils at the University of Tehran?

5. What gift does Nafisi give to the magician?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 845 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample