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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Joncour offer Hara Kei when he catches up to him on the fourth trip?
(a) Food.
(b) That he will take the mistress and care for her.
(c) Gold.
(d) Silk eggs.

2. What is in the sink at the house that Joncour buys?
(a) Bugs.
(b) Food.
(c) Dishes.
(d) Cleanser.

3. The morning after Joncour catches up with Hara Kei's procession, what does he find?
(a) The army killing the boy.
(b) The mistress hanging from a tree.
(c) Hara Kei hanging from a tree.
(d) The boy hanging from a tree.

4. What tone are the letters written in?
(a) An excited tone.
(b) A bland tone.
(c) A sexual tone.
(d) A happy tone.

5. When Joncour leaves town on his third trip, what does he do on the way out of town?
(a) Screams at the top of the hill into the air.
(b) Shoots his revolver into the air to scare the resting birds.
(c) Shoots a sitting bird.
(d) Cries at the last sight of the village.

Short Answer Questions

1. On the way home on the third trip, how long does it take Joncour to arrive home?

2. When Joncour arrives at the empty house of Hara Kei the morning after the party, what does he find in the aviary?

3. What do the letters say at the end?

4. What does Madame Blanche say about Japan?

5. Where do the two Italians get good eggs from?

Short Essay Questions

1. Helene runs after Baldabiou at the train station and they embrace and she cries. What does this tell the reader about their relationship? Do you think something happened?

2. When Joncour arrives home nine days late, what does he ask of his wife? Why does he ask her this?

3. On his fourth trip to Japan, what does Joncour find when he arrives at Hara Kei's village? How does he see the village? What is the state of the village a symbol of?

4. On his final trip to Madame Blanche's, what does she tell Joncour about his wife that he did not know?

5. On the fourth trip to Japan, when Joncour offers gold to Hara Kei, what is he buying?

6. Why does Helene pretend not to notice the letters when they are clearly in plain sight?

7. Why do you think Madame Blanche wants to forget about her native language? Why does she make Joncour promise to never return to her for a translation?

8. On the fourth trip to Japan, describe the young boy that Joncour follows? What is he playing? Why would he play music as they wander through the villages?

9. For the fourth trip to Japan, Baldabiou is unsure whether or not to send Joncour. What are his misgivings? When discussing it with Joncour, who is he trying to convince?

10. Why does Joncour sit by the lake on windy days after the death of his wife? Has the meaning of the ripples on the water changed for him?

(see the answer keys)

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