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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. For what is Yoshida disciplining one of the boys?

2. What is the situation in this country during this time?

3. What does Jiro say to Yoshida?

4. What list does Yoshida post?

5. For what are the boys preparing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Saburo and his gang do one evening?

2. What do the authorities and merchant's guild offer?

3. What does Yoshida tell Jiro when Jiro presents himself to the man and how does Kinshi reassure Jiro?

4. Who posts the roles for the new play and what is Jiro's role?

5. How do some of the attendees feel about the resemblance of Joman to Saburo?

6. Who does Jiro find at the house when he gets home and what does Jiro learn from him?

7. Where does Jiro and his father sell their puppets?

8. What does Jiro decide to do and why does he make this decision?

9. How does Jiro help his father and how does this help his family?

10. Who does Jiro meet at the theater and what does the person tell Jiro?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss one of the following:

1. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in The Master Puppeteer.

2. Trace and analyze one major theme of The Master Puppeteer. How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

3. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of The Master Puppeteer. How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

Essay Topic 2

Choose one of the following to discuss:

1. Choose two significant symbols and trace and analyze their appearance in The Master Puppeteer. Are these universal symbols? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other symbols that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Peterson chooses the symbols he does?

2. Choose two important metaphors and trace and analyze their appearance in the novel. Are these universal metaphors? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other metaphors that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Peterson chooses the metaphors she does?

3. Discuss Peterson's use (or lack ) of literary device (such as foreshadowing, clifthangers, deux ex machina, etc...), and how they add or detract from the story. Does Peterson use too many or too little literary techniques? State which of the five major elements of fiction the literary device is related to (style, character, plot, setting, theme).

Essay Topic 3

In this story, the gap between people's wealth and their social position is particularly large. This is because it is a time of famine, and the farmers are forced to give most of their food to the daimyos. The rice merchants have grown extremely rich while the farmers and other peasants are poor and starving. The samurai might be considered very important on the social scale, but Jiro tells us that even some of the samurai are starving on very small rice stipends. This has made people very angry and restless, as the lowliest and undeserving members of society, the merchants are getting rich and fat while those who should be more important starve. The famine has only made these feelings worse, and has caused the peasants of the city to become desperate.

1. Compare a day in the life of a peasant with a day in the life of a Lord in feudal Japan. Use examples from The Master Puppeteer to support your reasoning.

2. Do you think the rice merchants have an obligation to feed the masses? Why or why not? Use examples from The Master Puppeteer to support your reasoning.

3. What kinds of behaviors do you think desperate, starving people will display and how does starvation of the masses enter into many revolutions in countries? Use examples from The Master Puppeteer to support your reasoning.

(see the answer keys)

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