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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. According to Mr. Tabata, what did Yoshiya have to do to have his father revealed to him?

2. Why does Mr. Tabata beg Yoshiya for forgiveness?

3. Who wrote "To Build a Fire"?

4. What animal was Shimao afraid of in her story?

5. What was Yoshiya's last utterance in "all god's children can dance"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Miyake able to paint?

2. What does the note Komura's wife left behind say?

3. What happens to Yoshiya at the end of the story?

4. Describe Komura's wife.

5. How did Komura's wife feel about Tokyo?

6. Why does Miyake like fire?

7. Why does Sasaki want Komura to go to Hokkaido?

8. Describe Yoshiya's predicament when he wakes up at the beginning of the story.

9. Why did Junko run away from home?

10. Describe Yoshiya's relationship with his mother.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Assess the power of shared experiences in shaping diverse personal narratives. How does the Kobe earthquake unify these stories and the characters in them?

Essay Topic 2

Examine how Murakami portrays loneliness and the human desire for connection. Consider this theme in at least three stories.

Essay Topic 3

In each of the stories in after the quake, the characters are experiencing their own problems that coincide with the aftermath of the earthquake. Explain how Murakami parallels personal disaster with natural disaster.

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