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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. According to Toru's uncle in Chapter 13, how did Mr. Miyawaki lose all of his money?

2. Who is the protagonist of Chapter 3?

3. What does Toru find in the envelope the silent boy gives him?

4. What code name is used in Chapter 7 to refer tot he owner of the "hanging house"?

5. What similarity exists between the veterinarian in Chapter 9 and Toru Okada?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Kumiko and Toru Okada's first date.

2. How does pain return to Creta Kano's life?

3. What does the unnamed boy see in Chapter 3?

4. Describe the interchange Toru has with the woman on the bench in Chapter 2?

5. Why are the Okadas estranged from the Watayas?

6. What financial decision does Toru Okada make at the beginning of Book 3?

7. What information does Malt Kano provide Toru Okada in their first meeting in Chapter 3?

8. What is the Clumsy Massacre of Chapter 9?

9. Describe Toru Okada's dream at the end of Chapter 16?

10. What happens when Toru goes to the appointed address in Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Communication is a tricky and prevalent theme in the novel. Toru Okada is bombarded with new acquaintances in nearly every chapter of the novel, and they come top him in many different ways. Write an essay, outlining the different ways in which people make contact with the protagonist of the novel. How are the telephone, mail, dreams, and an early internet chat program all utilized? How does this menagerie of different forms of communication lead to ambiguity regarding how is communicating with whom?

Essay Topic 2

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is replete with images of imperiled children such as young Nutmeg, Kumiko, and her sister, Cinnamon. Write an essay about the world of the novel as a place when the innocent are not safe, focusing on three wounded adults who are trying to escape childhood traumas. What trauma is each trying to escape? How does this fear lead each to make an equally destructive choice in adulthood? In conclusion, what is Murakami saying about the relationship between childhood and adulthood?

Essay Topic 3

Haruki Murakami's novels almost always involve grown men who have not fully developed emotionally and several strong-willed women who force them to question their world-views. Write an essay about Toru Okada's relationship with the women of the novel. How is Toru's emotional growth stunted at the beginning of the novel? What shattering event forces him from his torpor at the beginning of the novel? Choose three women who enter his life after this event and discuss their relationship to him.

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