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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. After the Nakane family is separated from Aunt Emily, how many years will they be apart?

2. How old is Naomi in the last photo taken of her and her mother?

3. Which child is identified as a "troublemaker" by Naomi?

4. What insect swarms the house that the Nakane family is relocated to?

5. What type of dance does Uncle perform when he appears in Naomi's dream?

Short Essay Questions

1. What preparations are made for Uncle's arrival in Slocan, and how is he greeted?

2. What disturbing dreams does Naomi begin to have about her mother after she is released from the hospital?

3. How do Naomi and Stephen adjust to their new schools in Granton?

4. What is the truth surrounding the reasons why Naomi's mother never returned home to Canada?

5. How is Grandmother Nakane's funeral described in the novel?

6. What does Naomi know about the people that made up her community in Slocan?

7. How does the family react to the news that the war is over?

8. While Naomi is recovering in the hospital, what does she remember about the schoolboys that had a penchant for making things suffer?

9. At the onset of the labor camps, what happens to Naomi's family?

10. How do Obasan and other women on the train react to the young mother's birth story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many deaths throughout the novel, but Uncle's seems to be the most important. Describe the effect that Uncle's death has on Naomi's life and explain why Uncle's death may be considered the most important death in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

There are many epistolary, or written, elements to the novel. Create a list of three elements used throughout the novel as ways of recording history for the family, and describe the ways that these element affected Naomi's relationship with her family's truths.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Kogawa uses many different forms of figurative language including personification, simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia. Describe the ways that Kogawa uses figurative language to propel the momentum of the storyline, and explain the ways that these tools of language affect the reader's relationship with the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 838 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample