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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. Of what are Nabokov's memories in a Russian setting?

2. What does this thriving upper-class tourist industry offer?

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

4. Who accompanies Vladimir and his companion on the beach?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. He also had several art instructors. Who are they and what does he learn from them?

3. What happens to Dimitri Nabokov after his retirement?

4. Nabokov is surprised to learn of what happens to several of his art teachers in the future. Why?

5. Why does Mademoiselle want to leave the family?

6. The aristocratic Nabokov house is stocked with English and French amenities. What are some of the amenities?

7. Describe Nabokov's encounters with his cousin, Yuri.

8. Who is Mademoiselle?

9. What are Vladimir and Colette caught doing?

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

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's family is exiled from Russia.

Part 1) Why?

Part 2) How is Nabokov's life is Western Europe?

Part 3) Although, Nabokov says his anger towards the Bolsheviks is due to his loss of country, how might his loss of wealth and status affect him?

Essay Topic 3

This autobiographical work ends with the family leaving on a boat for the United States.

Part 1) What might be the reason they decide to immigrate to the United States?

Part 2) What struggles might the family encounter? Why?

Part 3) Will Nabokov be successful in the United States? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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