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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. Why was Nafisi's father arrested?
(a) He lost a great deal of money and could not pay the bills.
(b) He challenged the educational system.
(c) He was not a member of the religious community.
(d) He ignored directions from those in higher levels of government.

2. What happens to the class after they read "Madame Bovary"?
(a) The class agrees to meet in a local cafe.
(b) The girls begin to take charge of the discussion.
(c) They have a sense of shared intimacy.
(d) Some of the girls decide to leave the study group.

3. What is the first work Nafisi and her students in the study group discuss?
(a) "Nabokov."
(b) "A Thousand and One Nights."
(c) "Lolita."
(d) "Invitation to a Beheading."

4. Nassrin describes herself as being in the middle of what for her whole life?
(a) In the middle of safety and danger.
(b) In the middle of tradition and change.
(c) In the middle of fiction and reality.
(d) In the middle of insubordination and obedience.

5. Why are Nafisi's students like ghosts when they are walking through the streets of Tehran?
(a) Because they wear a veil, their skin is very white like a ghost.
(b) Their black clothes hide them when they are walking at night.
(c) They have learned to walk with a gliding motion, barely touching the ground.
(d) They hope to be invisible to the militia and arrive at their destination without confrontation.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Nafisi's father?

2. Why did Nabokov say that every great novel is a fairy tale?

3. At the beginning of Chapter 16, what are Nafisi and her male acquaintance discussing?

4. How does Nafisi's male acquaintance think he can tell a person's character?

5. Why does the literature professor dislike Manna and Nima?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the relationship between the imaginary rain shower and the meeting of Nafisi's class?

3. Why does Nafisi agree with Nabokov's statement that every great novel is a fairy tale?

4. What is the significance of the green gate Nafisi mentions in Chapter 9?

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

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

7. How does the Iranian regime expect women to behave on the streets of Tehran?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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