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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. With what is young Vladimir obsessed?

2. What does Nabokov reveal about his mind?

3. What is the first memory Nabokov drags from the darkness?

4. Though many doubt this ailment, What happens to Ivanovich?

5. During one such trip in the summer of 1909, who does young Nabokov meet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Max do, regarding the watchdogs?

2. How do the Nabokovs travel from St. Petersburg to Paris?

3. What evidence from the text shows that Nabokov is beginning to have an interest in girls?

4. In 1910, the Nabokov brothers acquire teeth braces. How does their father reward them for dealing with the dental sessions?

5. Why does Mademoiselle want to leave the family?

6. How does Nabokov begin this final chapter?

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

8. How does Nabokov spend hours of his time during this period of his life?

9. What does Nabokov experience in Crimea?

10. How does Nabokov's autobiography begin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Nabokov includes a chapter about butterflies.

Part 1) Why does he include this chapter?

Part 2) What does this say about Nabokov as a person?

Part 3) Must the author's purpose for a work be the only basis for studying and analyzing that work? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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