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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. During the trip on the galley, how does the weather change?

2. Who arrives and almost puts an end to the ruse Toranaga uses for his getaway?

3. What country does Blackthorne say he is not an enemy of?

4. Where is Blackthorne taken out of respect for his position?

5. What does Domingo teach Blackthorne?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Blackthorne insist on as soon as he gets the galley into a safe harbor?

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

3. When the samurai who fails to carry through on his actions is ordered to be executed, who is given the job?

4. Why does Buntaro prepare to commit seppuku at the end of a jetty?

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

6. What are Blackthorne's questions Toranaga tells Mariko not to answer?

7. How close does Blackthorne come to being executed in Yedo after visiting Toranaga?

8. Where are Blackthorne and his crew held prisoners?

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

10. Describe the change in Toranaga's orders related to Blackthorne after he is removed from prison.

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, The Concept of Honor and Shame in Shōgun. Discuss your understanding of why the Japanese considered personal honor a matter of such great importance. Talk about the concept of seppuku as an honorable way to avoid public shame and humiliation. Discuss Mariko's suggestion that the old gardener considered it an honor to be beheaded for burying Blackthorne's pheasant.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Why I Loved (or Hated) SHÅŒGUN. This paper will be a critique of all the things you liked or did not like about Clavell's ability as a story teller, his use of language, his understanding of the Japanese culture, and his ability to keep interest up throughout the novel. Your conclusion will be either a recommendation of the novel or a pan of SHÅŒGUN.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Why People Go to Sea. Points in your essay should center around various reasons people have historically gone to sea. Use examples from SHÅŒGUN and other literature such as MOBY DICK or THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA to define motives for going to sea. Conclude with your opinion about whether you would consider going to sea as a sailor rather than a passenger.

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