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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. How did Midori learn to cook?

2. How many years have passed since the day in the meadow?

3. What was Nagasawa's major?

4. In what sport was Naoko involved in junior high?

5. What cleaning habit of Toru's roommate's actually bothered him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Naoko and Toru spend their afternoon together after meeting on the train?

2. What causes the narrator to feel dizzy in the opening scene of the novel?

3. How did Toru and Naoko celebrate her twentieth birthday?

4. What does Toru assume about the name of Ami Hostel?

5. Describe the day Kizuki died.

6. How did Toru feel about joining Nagasawa's womanizing expeditions?

7. What was the morning ceremony at the dormitory where Toru lived as a college student?

8. What did Naoko tell Toru in the letter she sent him in July 1969?

9. How did Ami Hostel come into existence?

10. Why does Naoko say it would be wrong for her to stay with Toru all the time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the beginning of the novel, Toru says that from Kizuki's death he learned that death is not separate from but part of life. How is this philosophy carried out through the rest of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

In addition to the connection between the mind and the body, Murakami explores the difference between living totally in one's mind and living totally in the outside system of the world. Using at least two characters as examples, discuss the author's development of this idea throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 3

How does grief play a role in shaping the characters in this novel? Please use at least three examples.

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