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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Nafisi consider to be the "real protagonists" in her class?
(a) The members of the Muslim Student Association.
(b) The novels that are read.
(c) The young women who register for the course.
(d) Outsiders, including former students, who come because of their commitment to literature.

2. Who is Mrs. Rezvan?
(a) A colleague of one of Nafisi's former students, who tries to get Nafisi to return to teaching.
(b) The wife of one of Nafisi's former students.
(c) One of Nafisi's former students.
(d) The mother of one of Nafisi's former students, who tries to get Nafisi to start a study group.

3. Why does Nafisi state it is important to introduce her students to the works of Saul Bellow?
(a) Because Bellow presents Western society as not being decadent, and Nafisi believes her students need to see Western culture as not being decadent.
(b) Because Bellow shows the problems and fears of the West, and Nafisi believes her students look at the West uncritically.
(c) Because she believes her students should read more American authors.
(d) Because Bellow provides an aesthetic counterpoint to the limitations of Austen's novels.

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

5. What is Nafisi feeling when the classroom trial of "The Great Gatsby" ends?
(a) A sense of anticipation for the next novel.
(b) A sense of loss and mourning.
(c) Sadness because the students began fighting.
(d) Exhilaration about the engagement of the students.

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

7. What happens to Sanaz when she is on vacation?
(a) Revolutionary Guards search the house where she is staying and take her to jail for 48 hours.
(b) She decides that she can no longer participate in the goals of the revolution.
(c) She is kidnapped by her brother, who accuses her of being too Westernized.
(d) She is expelled from the university because she is in Nafisi's study group.

8. 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 box of foreign chocolates.
(d) A book written in English.

9. How does Part 3, Chapter 11 begin?
(a) With a quote from "Daisy Miller."
(b) With Nafisi standing in her apartment.
(c) With a student talking in Nafisi's classroom.
(d) With the announcement that accompanies air raid sirens.

10. What causes the Iranian regime to temporarily relax the strict enforcement of their policies?
(a) Pressure from Western countries.
(b) The death of the Iranian president.
(c) Iraq's continued bombing of Iran's major cities.
(d) Opposition from members of Iranian society.

11. What game does Nafisi play when she begins wearing a black robe?
(a) She pretends her whole body disappears, and she becomes invisible.
(b) She pretends that everyone can see her as a human being.
(c) She pretends she is a religious leader and has additional authority.
(d) She pretends that nothing has changed, and she is not wearing a robe.

12. What is Nafisi's occupation after she leaves Iran?
(a) She is a mentor for Iranian graduate students.
(b) She is a teacher and writer.
(c) She is an Iranian travel guide.
(d) She is a demonstrator against the Iranian regime.

13. Why does the government first enforce the requirement that women remain covered in workplaces and shops?
(a) Because the shop owners are uncomfortable serving women who are not covered.
(b) Because women object to the law, and the government wants to reinforce its authority.
(c) Because women are already wearing the chador at home.
(d) Because there is no way to enforce the requirement at the university.

14. Why is Nafisi uncomfortable with Mr. Bahir's action at the end of Part 2, Chapter 6?
(a) His action forces her to report him to the police.
(b) By placing his hands behind his back, he negates her gesture of goodwill.
(c) She does not wish to shake hands with a student.
(d) She does not know him well and his presence feels threatening.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What question does Nafisi ask at the beginning of her first class at the University of Tehran?

2. What subject do both Mike Gold and F. Scott Fitzgerald write about?

3. In Part 3, Chapter 3, what do Laleh and Nafisi discuss at the restaurant?

4. What is a perfectly equipped failure?

5. In Part 2, Chapter 14, what do the police do to the women at the protest meeting?

(see the answer keys)

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