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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 is the address of the house that H.H. rents for himself and Lolita in the beginning of Part 2, Chapter 4?

2. What does H.H. buy for Lolita for her fifteenth birthday in Part 2, Chapter 12?

3. Among whom does the narrator claim in Part 2, Chapter 1 “sexual relations between a father and his daughter are accepted as a matter of course”?

4. H.H. describes going with Lolita to see “granite obelisk commemorating the Battle of” what, in Part 2, Chapter 2?

5. What location is described as the “home of the Wild Bill Something Rodeo” in Part 2, Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does H.H. characterize his neighbors in Beardsley in Part 2, Chapter 4? What relationship does he carry on with these characters?

2. Why does H.H. regret not going to Mexico in Part 2, Chapter 3?

3. What does H.H. surmise about the play that Lolita is performing in, in Part 2, Chapter 13?

4. How does H.H. go about finding the missing Lolita in Part 2, Chapter 19?

5. What does H.H. remark about the poem he has written in Part 2, Chapter 25?

6. What mysterious incident takes place involving a phone call to H.H. in Part 2, Chapter 21?

7. What does Miss Pratt advise H.H. regarding his stepdaughter’s sexual education in Part 2, Chapter 11?

8. When does Miss Pratt call H.H. to a meeting in Part 2, Chapter 11? What are his impressions as he enters the meeting?

9. How does H.H. describe his and Lolita’s arrival in Beardsley in Part 2, Chapter 4? Why has he come here?

10. How does H.H. go about finding Lolita in Part 2, Chapter 23? How successful is he in tracking her down?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Plot Structure

a. Discuss the plot structure of Lolita. In what ways is the narrative related and what effect does this have on the reader?

b. How does Lolita compare with other novels written during this time period? Are there specific stylistic elements that can be seen in Nabokov’s writing?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the character of Lolita, or Dolores Haze, in the novel. How old is Lolita when H.H. meets her? What characteristics does she exhibit? What about the character draws H.H. in?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss H.H. as an unreliable narrator in describing his sexual encounter with Lolita in Part 1. What do you think the reality of the situation is for the girl? How would the story differ if it were told from Lolita’s point of view? Why does Nabokov choose to tell the story from H.H.’s perspective?

(see the answer keys)

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