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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Tagomi receive that makes him become suspicious of Baynes's real intentions?
(a) An anonymous phone call.
(b) A military briefing.
(c) An unsigned letter.
(d) A coded message.

2. After recognizing the significance of Joe's tattoo, what does Juliana realize Joe was part of in World War II?
(a) The Allied Army.
(b) The Axis Army.
(c) The Red Cross.
(d) The Neutral zone.

3. What makes Juliana question the fact that Joe says he is reading The Grasshopper Lies Heavy?
(a) It is approved only for the elite.
(b) She never sees him actually reading.
(c) He is an uneducated truck driver.
(d) It is banned where he comes from.

4. What is Childan upset over as the novel opens?
(a) A store robbery.
(b) An undelivered package.
(c) A missed appointment.
(d) An artist's complaint.

5. How are Tagomi and Childan similar?
(a) They are concerned with outward appearances.
(b) They are feared by their peers.
(c) They are involved in secret missions.
(d) They are seeking social equality.

Short Answer Questions

1. Frank sees the Edfrank Jewelry business as, perhaps, a way of ____________.

2. What technique is used in Chapter 4 to introduce the reader to the character of Wyndam-Matson?

3. When Childan returns to his office in Chapter 4, who does the client waiting for him claim to represent?

4. What does Frank's use of the I Ching suggest about him?

5. What about Frank makes it difficult for him to move to a new territory?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare the reactions of Childan, Calvin and Wyndam-Matson to the discovery of the fake guns. What point does the author seem to be making about the business world as he sees it?

2. Chapter 1 introduces the setting of the novel as being in San Francisco twenty years after World War II. What signs are there that there has been a different outcome to this war from the history as we know it?

3. At the close of Chapter 6, we find Frank and McCarthy excited about starting their jewelry business. Despite this, Frank has some real concerns. Why? Are they legitimate?

4. The voice of the radio quotes from The Bible, "What profit it a man if he gain the whole world but in this enterprise lose his soul?" How does this apply to what we have witnessed of this world in Chapter 1?

5. When told by the university that "there is a regular industry turning out these fakes," Childan gets angry and insists that this is only a rumor. Why is he in such denial even when the proof lies before him?

6. In Chapter 5, Tagomi tells Baynes that many books like the I Ching and The Bible are alive. What does he mean by this? How does this appear to be supported in the text up to the close of this chapter ?

7. While at a special session about the possible candidates for the new German Chancellor, Tagomi becomes ill and leaves. What factors cause him to take the chance of being shamed by his abrupt departure?

8. What new insight does Chapter 5 give the reader into the character of Baynes? What might this be foreshadowing?

9. What is the source of the conflict Frank faces over his reading of the I Ching? How does he finally interpret this message? What does he decide as a result?

10. Wyndam-Matson and his girlfriend get into a long discussion about historicity. What is historicity? What point does Wyndam-Matson make about it? How is this idea supported in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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