View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the first priest indicate when he arrives where Blackthorne is held prisoner?

2. What lie does Blackthorne continue to tell?

3. Who is the pilot of the galley that will take Blackthorne to Osaka?

4. Why does Rodrigues go aboard the Erasmus?

5. What does the samurai Omi do when one man fails to bow upon his arrival?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Blackthorne not take Rodrigues up on the offer to copy his rutters?

2. Where are Blackthorne and his crew held prisoners?

3. How is the Portuguese pilot, Rodrigues, introduced into the story?

4. How is one of the crew brutally tortured to death?

5. How does Toranaga communicate with Blackthorne on their first meeting?

6. How is tension presented in Toranaga's character after meeting Ishido?

7. What prompts Blackthorne to attack Father Sabastio and desecrate his wooden cross?

8. After escaping the harbor, when Blackthorne awakes from his exhausted sleep, what does he find Toranaga doing?

9. Why does Blackthorne want to get on board the Erasmus?

10. During the galley trip to Osaka, what happens with the weather?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Cultural Differences and Cuisine. Point one in your essay should be the revulsion the Japanese have toward Blackthorne's skinning and cooking of the rabbit. Discuss how Buddhism and custom play a part in that revulsion. Point two should center on Blackthorne's imaginary letter back home about the food in Japan. Point three should center on Blackthorne's adaptation to the Japanese cuisine, including eating raw fish.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Ruthlessness and Political Ambition. In your essay, point out instances where Toranaga has little concern about using people to gain his own ends. Mention instances of out right lies Toranaga tells to get his way. Finally, discuss the real ambition behind everything Toranaga does throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, How Traders Made Their Living. Start with the idea that trading went on long before there were systems for monetary exchanges. Use information from SHÅŒGUN about the European/Chinese/Japanese trade practices worked. Include the more familiar trade between China, India, and Europe in the days of Marco Polo. At what point in that system does actual money come to play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 655 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample