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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 Tojo own?

2. Which two characters threaten to kill Musashi?

3. What does Nikkon tell Musashi he cannot continue to pride himself on?

4. Whose family does Matahachi want to find?

5. What is the name of the military captain's commander?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Musashi find Otsu again?

2. How does Musashi feel about his talk with Nikkan?

3. Who is Jotaro?

4. Why do Osugi and Gon want to kill Musashi?

5. How does Jo's father react when Matahachi takes food from him?

6. What are the reasons Seijuro cannot fight in this chapter?

7. Describe Matahachi's reunion with his mother?

8. Why does Akemi's mother demand Akemi continue to steal from corpses?

9. Why do the priest say they killed the men?

10. How has Matahachi's life changed for the worse at the beginning of Book III?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the conventions of historical fiction? In what way is Yoshikawa's book typical of the genre? How does the book differ from Western historical fiction?

Essay Topic 2

How do the books work as a series? Why did Eiji Yoshikawa decided to write a series of books instead of just one? How does Eiji Yoshikawa develop the story and character throughout the series?

Essay Topic 3

What are the main turning points of the book? How does Yoshikawa develop his story to get to each turning point? What happens to the story after a major turning point?

(see the answer keys)

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