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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What gift does Nafisi give to the magician?
(a) A pair of scissors shaped like a rooster.
(b) A bottle of homemade wine.
(c) A book written in English.
(d) A box of foreign chocolates.

2. How does the class study of "The Great Gatsby" affect Nafisi?
(a) She learns that she is really an American, not an Iranian.
(b) She becomes sad, because her students do not enjoy the novel.
(c) She gains insight into her feelings and desires about her work and the meaning of literature in her life.
(d) She discovers that she loves teaching revolutionary novels.

3. According to Nafisi, how can one stop "dancing with the jailer"?
(a) Give in to the desires of the regime and follow the nation's laws.
(b) Become a part of the ruling party and end oppression.
(c) Remember that life is cyclical, and this time will end soon.
(d) Find a way to preserve one's uniqueness and individuality despite opposition and persecution.

4. Who does Nafisi believe is an example of a National Writer?
(a) She believes Mark Twain is an example of a National Writer.
(b) She believes all writers are national writers, but no writer is a National Writer.
(c) She believes Nabokov is an example of a National Writer.
(d) She believes all writers are National Writers.

5. What activity does Nafisi do with her students to help them understand the characters in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"?
(a) She puts the main character on trial.
(b) She takes them to a cafe.
(c) She dances with them.
(d) She asks them to write descriptions of the main characters.

6. Why does Nafisi say that war was a blessing to some Iranians?
(a) War gave some Iranians a chance to kill people they disliked.
(b) War allowed some Iranians to get rich quickly.
(c) War gave some Iranians a sense of community, purpose, and power.
(d) War caused Iranians to return to their religious roots.

7. Who does Nafisi meet with in Part 3, Chapter 10?
(a) Local religious leaders.
(b) Her study group.
(c) Officials at a local university.
(d) The magician.

8. In the epilogue, Nafisi makes an allusion to which novel?
(a) "Invitation to a Beheading."
(b) "The Great Gatsby."
(c) "Daisy Miller."
(d) "Lolita."

9. Who delays Nafisi's expulsion from the university?
(a) Dr. A.
(b) Mr. Bahir and some of Nafisi's former students.
(c) Nafisi's secular colleagues.
(d) The Committee on the Cultural Revolution.

10. What does Mr. Forsati want to do?
(a) Start a company related to videos and films.
(b) Write a novel about life in Iran.
(c) Work as an official in the Iranian regime.
(d) Marry one of Nafisi's students.

11. What is Mina's job?
(a) Baker.
(b) Mother.
(c) Translator.
(d) Teacher.

12. What does Nafisi describe in the epilogue?
(a) Her journey to America.
(b) The activities of her former students after Nafisi left Iran.
(c) How she made the decision to leave Iran.
(d) The memories of her former students who were executed.

13. In Part 3, Chapter 3, what do Laleh and Nafisi discuss at the restaurant?
(a) Laleh's expulsion from the University of Tehran.
(b) Nafisi's expulsion from the University of Tehran.
(c) Laleh's decision to become a seamstress.
(d) The actions of the Committee on Cultural Revolution.

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

15. What does the study group find disturbing about the texts written by the Ayatollah Khomeini?
(a) The texts are taken seriously by rulers of the country, even though they are absurd.
(b) Manna knew they had been translated.
(c) The texts contain blasphemy, which is against the laws of morality.
(d) Nassrin had read them and was talking about their contents publicly.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Iranian writers and publishers during the mid-nineties?

2. In Part 3, Chapter 4, who asks to meet with Nafisi?

3. How is Nafisi's generation different from that of her students?

4. What project is Nassrin working on?

5. What right does Nafisi fantasize about being added to the Bill of Rights?

(see the answer keys)

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