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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 Supervisor comment to the Woman about after she changes into her uniform on her first day of work?

2. What does Supervisor Hamomoto tell the Woman in the Purple Skirt Supervisor Tachibana takes from work?

3. What does the Woman in the Purple Skirt fail to bring on her first day, which disappoints Supervisor Tsukada?

4. What does the director say to the Woman in the Purple Skirt about the other supervisors?

5. What family event marked the last time the narrator saw her sister?

Short Essay Questions

1. What changes does the narrator note about the Woman when she has a job versus when she does not?

2. Describe the interaction between Supervisor Tsukada and the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day after she gets her uniform.

3. Who is Mei-chan and how does she relate to the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

4. Describe the training the director gives to the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day,

5. What type of information does the narrator keep track of regarding the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

6. How do the children at the park interact with the Woman in the Purple Skirt at the park? How does she react to them?

7. In what way does the narrator feel she may have helped the Woman in the Purple Skirt win over the director and supervisor so quickly?

8. Who is Arishima-san? Why does the narrator ultimately decide the Woman in the Purple Skirt cannot be Arishima-san?

9. How did the narrator once try to engage with the Woman in the Purple Skirt? What was the result?

10. What happens at the park after the Woman sits with her apple after her first day of work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Away from the main character examine the way the author uses the other characters in the book. When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the use of dialogue vs the use of description. How is each used in the The Woman in the Purple Skirt? Explain what makes these uses effective or ineffective.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the narrator's attempts to get close to the Woman in the Purple Skirt. What plans does she come up with and how are these plans continuously thwarted?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample