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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 kind of doctor is Dr. Tokai?

2. At what point in her life does Scheherazade say she had realized her former status as a particular creature?

3. With respect to the topic of "being quick on the draw" (86), the narrator references a film by what famous director?

4. How does the narrator of "An Independent Organ" describe the level of success enjoyed by Dr. Tokai's medical practice?

5. The first line of the story Scheherazade uses what two adjectives to describe the stories Habara's "support liaison" (121) tells him?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what work is the title of the story "Scheherazade" referring and what is the significance of the title?

2. How is the theme of secrecy depicted within the story entitled "An Independent Organ"?

3. Discuss the significance of Murakami's use of a simile to describe the moment when Dr. Tokai falls in love.

4. When the narrator states that Dr. Tokai had displayed no signs of an unstable personality, what traits does he list as being absent within Dr. Tokai's personality?

5. How is vivid imagery employed within Scheherazade's depiction of her former life as a lamprey eel?

6. What is Dr. Tokai's eventual fate?

7. What are Kino's feelings toward his ex-wife and her lover, who had also been Kino's colleague?

8. How does Kino come to own a bar and what had he done for work prior to the purchase?

9. Who is Goto and what is his role in the story entitled "An Independent Organ"?

10. How is the theme of escape depicted within Habara's receipt of Scheherazade's stories?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a critical essay about Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women while using the critical power theory lens of Marxist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the book's treatment of issues such as socioeconomic status, hierarchies, wealth, class, or any other issues related to Marxist theory that can be found in the book.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why the author instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women.

Essay Topic 3

What is the short story collection's message concerning the link between love and loss?

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