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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. Why does the literature professor dislike Manna and Nima?

2. What is the first work Nafisi and her students in the study group discuss?

3. In Chapter 20, Nafisi tells a story about what event that happened to Manna and Nima?

4. What would happen if the "Blood of God" militia saw a girl with nail polish or a strand of loose hair?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is there a difference between the students' level of comfort in talking about themselves and their level of comfort in discussing the novels?

2. Why does Nafisi describe the three types of women portrayed in "A Thousand and One Nights"?

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

4. Why does Nafisi refer to two photographs in the first chapter?

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

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

7. What is the purpose of the dreams that Nafisi describes?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several times Nafisi refers to the individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Write an essay that focuses on one of those rights. How is that right viewed by the Islamist Iranian Republic? How is that right portrayed in the literature Nafisi teaches? What does Nafisi do to assert her rights?

Essay Topic 2

In Section I, Chapter 4, Mahsid says "everyday life does not have fewer horrors than prison." Choose 3 characters from the book and write an essay that illustrates the truthfulness or untruthfulness of this statement from each of their perspectives. What are their everyday horrors? How do these characters respond to them?

Essay Topic 3

In his "Letter from the Birmingham Jail (April 1963)," Martin Luther King, Jr. responded to critics who called him an extremist by pointing out examples of what he called extremist behavior by famous political and religious figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Jesus. King challenged the notion that "extremist" was a negative behavior, and stated that "the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be."

Choose 3 of the characters listed below. Provide examples of how they are portrayed as extremists in the book. Would the character have the same perspective on their behavior as the author? If not, would the character see himself or herself as an extremist? Would they consider being an extremist to be a positive or a negative characteristic?

~ Nafisi

~ The magician

~ Mr. Bahri

~ Mr. Nyazi

~ The Iranian Government

~ Nafisi's students in the study group

(see the answer keys)

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