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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. What does the opening of the Suez Canal do for the trip to Japan?
2. What does Joncour do with the envelope he receives after his last trip to Japan?
3. Whose house does Joncour buy?
4. What advice does Madame Blanche give to Joncour about the letters?
5. When Joncour and the boy catch up to the procession of Hara Kei, what travels behind Hara Kei?
Short Essay Questions
1. When the young boy is hanged, why does Hara Kei say the boy was the message of love? What does he mean by that? Does this have anything to do with the boy's happy disposition? What?
2. Why does Joncour take Baldabiou to the house of Jean Berbeck that he buys? What is he looking for? Why does he think that Baldabiou will understand?
3. On his final trip to Madame Blanche's, what does she tell Joncour about his wife that he did not know?
4. When Joncour arrives home nine days late, what does he ask of his wife? Why does he ask her this?
5. The letter describes a sexual encounter but eludes to fact that it has already happened? What does this mean?
6. When Joncour finally tells Baldabiou about the girl in Japan he says, "To die of nostalgia for something you will never live," what does he mean?
7. On the fourth trip to Japan, what does the young boy offer Joncour to get him to follow him? Who is this boy? Who sent him? Why is he in the village alone?
8. 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?
9. 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?
10. The envelope that Joncour receives is mailed from Ostend, which is in Belgium. Who do you think sent the letters knowing this information?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
When Hara Kei tells Joncour that the mistress does not speak his language, is there a deeper meaning? What would it be?
Essay Topic 2
How does Hara Kei forgive Joncour his rude behavior? He does it several times in the novel. Does he react the same way each time, or differently? Why does he endure Joncour's lack of knowledge about Japan?
Essay Topic 3
In the author's description of the trip from France to Japan, he describes it exactly the same except for the description of Lake Baikal. Each time Joncour travels past the lake, the locals are calling the lake by a different name. Why is this significant? What does this symbolize? Why would this be the only point where the author deviates from his description?
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This section contains 1,350 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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