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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Nafisi consider to be the first lesson in democracy?
(a) All individuals have the right to vote for their own leaders.
(b) All individuals have the right to freedom of speech.
(c) All individuals have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
(d) All individuals have the right to dress as they please.

2. Why do the students meet in Nafisi's apartment?
(a) To learn about religious freedom.
(b) To escape the University of Tehran.
(c) To study and discuss literature.
(d) To plan ways to join the revolution.

3. Why is Mashid jailed?
(a) Because people find out she was studying literature.
(b) Because she steals flowers.
(c) Because she tells her parents she was translating Islamic texts into English.
(d) Because she is associated with a dissident organization.

4. How does Nafisi refer to her male acquaintance?
(a) As "my boyfriend."
(b) As "my magician."
(c) As "my mentor."
(d) As "my colleague."

5. How does Nafisi structure the first class sessions?
(a) With students reading "revolutionary" authors and discussing the parallels to contemporary society.
(b) With the students leading discussion and choosing what to read.
(c) Like a traditional literature class, with Nafisi asking questions and leading discussions.
(d) Like a lecture class, with the students taking notes on Nafisi's lectures.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is Negar upset?

2. What does the class strive to do in their study of literature?

3. What happens to the class after they read "Madame Bovary"?

4. What is the best definition of Nabokov's term "poshlust"?

5. Why is Nafisi worried about her students?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the similarity between Lolita's past and the past of Nafisi's students?

2. According to Nafisi, what is life like for a "normal Iranian citizen"?

3. Why do Mitra and the other students find the Thursday study group to be significant?

4. Why do Nafisi and her students feel so strongly about Nabokov and his works?

5. What happens to disrupt the class discussion in Chapter 17?

6. How is Professor X's method of teaching literature different than Nafisi's method of teaching literature?

7. Why is it difficult to find a copy of "Lolita" in Tehran?

8. What is the role of literature in Part 1, Chapter 20?

9. Why does Nafisi include Part 1, Chapter 12 in her memoir?

10. How is the generation of Nafisi's students different from the generation of Nafisi and her peers?

(see the answer keys)

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