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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. What does this hobby do to him?

2. What does Nabokov investigate about his family?

3. Why is he detained briefly in 1918, by a Bolshevik soldier?

4. How many years does Mademoiselle spend with the family?

5. When do they arrive in Paris?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are the tutors hired to educate the Nabokov children?

2. What jobs does Nabokov's father hold throughout his career?

3. What is happening in the science of butterflies?

4. How are the Nabokov's affected by their son? What do we learn about Dmitri, as he grows?

5. How does Nabokov's autobiography begin?

6. Who is Mademoiselle?

7. What does the Russian revolution do to most of Russia's writers and artists?

8. Why is the couple allowed to be on their own.

9. What does Max do, regarding the watchdogs?

10. Why does Mademoiselle want to leave the family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nabokov speaks mainly of his brother and himself as experiencing a liberal education, even though Nabokov has two sisters.

Part 1) Why are they rarely mentioned?

Part 2) What training would be important for a girl in this society?

Part 3) What is the role of women at this time?

Essay Topic 2

Nabokov has always had difficulty sleeping.

Part 1) Why?

Part 2) What is the purpose of an autobiography?

Part 3) What is the purpose of this autobiography?

Essay Topic 3

Nabokov and his brother go through a series of nannies, governesses, and tutors.

Part 1) Choose four of these individuals. Describe them, and explain how the children benefit from their services.

Part 2) How does Nabokov, similar to many children, treat the nannies, governesses, and tutors?

Part 3) How does Nabokov's relationship with these individuals reveal his opinion of hired help and those in lower social classes?

(see the answer keys)

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