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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Lett punish the boys?

2. What tutor looks like the French actor Max Linder?

3. The boredom of the audience at these poetry performances is obvious to everyone but whom?

4. To where do the boys win scholarships?

5. Who finds himself surrounded by social elites whose view of the Revolution is, at least at first, far more positive than his own?

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

What surprises Nabokov when he encounters his former nanny, "Mademoiselle," years later? What are two possible reasons for his confusion?

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)

This section contains 261 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample