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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 9, what does Yassi ask Nafisi ?

2. According to Nafisi, how is the character of Lolita like Nafisi's students?

3. What does Nafisi describe as the crux of the problem in "Lolita"?

4. What object becomes popular in Iran?

5. Why do the intruders want access to Nafisi's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 2, why does Nafisi describe the first meeting of the study group in present tense instead of past tense?

2. What factors cause Nafisi to resign from her position at the university?

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

4. What does the magician do with the photographs Nafisi shows him?

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

6. Why does Nafisi consider Humbert to be a seducer of the readers of "Lolita"?

7. Why do the magician and Nafisi enjoy each other's company so much?

8. How do the university officials react to Nafisi before and after her resignation?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nafisi opens the book by asking the reader to imagine the secret class. She ends the book by wondering if she imagined the magician. Throughout the memoir, she mentions imagination in connection to the Iranian regime, to the authors of the fictional novels she teaches, and in the lives of herself and her students. What is the role of imagination in "Reading Lolita in Tehran"? How do each of those characters (the regime, the authors, Nafisi, her students) view imagination?

Essay Topic 2

America is presented as both reality and symbol, as a concept and a country. Describe the various ways America is interpreted and understood by those in Nafisi's classes and the Iranian government. How do those interpretations compare to Nafisi's personal memories and descriptions of America? What elements of America are emphasized? What elements of America are omitted? Why are there omissions?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the book, Nafisi uses language with strong sensory connections. Choose taste, touch, sight, smell, or hearing and write an essay that discusses the use of that sense in each of the four sections of the book. Why is this sense used? Is the sense always used by the same individual? Is it always used in the same way?

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