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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. Who accompanies Vladimir and his companion on the beach?

2. Where does Nabokov's mother trick Dimitri into believing he is still?

3. At the time the family moves, where are Nabokov and his brother?

4. To what is Nabokov's mother quite sensitive?

5. When does Nabokov eventually discover a new species?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Nabokov meet Colette? How do they spend their time together?

2. What are Vladimir and Colette caught doing?

3. Why does Mademoiselle want to leave the family?

4. What is the process Nabokov goes through to create a poem?

5. How does Nabokov describe the final years in Europe?

6. Explain the process used to create this book.

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

8. What is a difficulty that Russian writers endure?

9. Nabokov's uncle, Vasiliy Ivanovich, is a diplomat and a dreamer, who occupies one of the estates near St. Petersburg when not abroad. What story does Nabokov recall about his uncle?

10. What happens to the family once they leave Russia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nabokov seems to have a close relationship with his father.

Part 1) Describe their relationship.

Part 2) Compare and contrast Nabokov's relationship with his father and his relationship with his mother.

Part 3) What are possible reasons for the differences in the two relationships?

Essay Topic 2

However, even though Nabokov despises the Bolsheviks, he is determined to retain his Russian identity and to become proficient as a Russian author.

Part 1) Why is this important to him?

Part 2) How is becoming a Russian novelist a struggle at Cambridge?

Part 3) Predict where his works will be more popular, in Russia or Western Europe and the United States? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Nabokov gives a brief history of his maternal and paternal ancestors.

Part 1) Describe his paternal and maternal ancestors.

Part 2) Compare and contrast these ancestors.

Part 3) What can one learn about Nabokov from this information?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 972 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample