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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 does Kunihiko bring back from a convenience store for some foreigners one night at the bar?

2. What kind of food did Eiju cook for Mike when he was a child?

3. Who is the man who Eiju gets his liquor from?

4. Which of the following is one of Eiju's favorite smells?

5. Who does Mike eventually partner with to do a pop-up restaurant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mike come to think of Eiju's regular patrons?

2. Why does Mike begin helping Eiju run the bar?

3. What does Mike think of Kunihiko?

4. Why is Ryutaro so loyal to Eiju?

5. What happens to Eiju as he gets sicker and sicker?

6. What is very upsetting to Mike about how his father Eiju abandoned him and Mitsuko?

7. What does Kunihiko start doing as Eiju gets sicker?

8. What surprises Mike about the name of Eiju's bar?

9. What seems to surprise Ben about Mike's reaction to his telling Mike he is HIV positive?

10. How does Eiju generally treat Mike when Mike first shows up in Osaka?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think Washington chose to split the book into two parts, with one written from Benson's perspective and one written from Mike's perspective? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

How does Mike's experience of poverty in childhood shape his perceptions as an adult? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Washington seems to leave the door open to the idea that Mike and Ben might someday get back together at the end of the novel, but for the immediate future, they are breaking up. Why do you think Washington leaves the future of Ben's and Mike's relationship ambiguous? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 566 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample