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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. In "Chapter 13," what does Honda say westerners believe about history?

2. When is the cherry blossom viewing?

3. In "Chapter 14," what does Iinuma hear in the ceiling?

4. Why does Kiyoaki's father agree to help underwrite Satoko's dowry?

5. In "Chapter 9," what does Iinuma say he feels was his responsibility to teach Kiyoaki?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Chapter 4," what parable does Honda relay to Kiyoaki?

2. In "Chapter 5," why is Kiyoaki's father worried about him?

3. How does Kiyoaki interact with the "monster" in "Chapter 48"?

4. What does Kiyoaki's father tell him about college?

5. What does Honda see in the courthouse in "Chapter 29"?

6. What happens when Satoko asks the Abbess to help her become a nun?

7. How does Kiyoaki feel about going away to college?

8. What does Kiyoaki do when he receives a boat in "Chapter 49"?

9. Why does Honda think of a photograph from the Russo-Japanese war in "Chapter 28"?

10. Why does Satoko's family visit the monastery? What happens when Satoko visits the Gesshu Monastery after her abortion? in "Chapter 43"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the narrator of this novel. What is effective about having a third-person, disconnected narrator? What is ineffective? Define third-person, disconnected narrator in your essay.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze three specifics of Japanese society that complicate Kiyoaki's character and plot line.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze western influences on Japanese traditions in this novel. What happens when the two cultures meet? How does this relate to the theme of change? How do the relationships between east and west affect the characters and the plot of this novel? Give examples from the novel to support your statements.

(see the answer keys)

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