View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. At what age does the narrator hit puberty?

2. What does the narrator fantasize about after his meeting with Omi in the school yard?

3. Why does the narrator masturbate in class?

4. What do the boys at the school notice about Omi's body?

5. What does the narrator liken to a stage play?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator believe that his lack of interest in women may have to do with laziness?

2. Why do the narrator's parents keep him from living in the dormitories at school?

3. What physical actions does the narrator take in order to appear to be tough?

4. How is the grandmother affected when the narrator moves in with his father?

5. Describe the outfits the boys have to wear to school on "ceremony day"?

6. Why does the narrator feel he has gone through life fooling not just others, but himself?

7. What attracts the narrator to soldiers as a youth?

8. Why does the narrator begin drinking and smoking?

9. Describe the narrator's fantasy perception of Omi.

10. Why do adults seem concerned at the narrator's insistence that he remembers his birth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The war changes the country of Japan and those who experienced it.

1) Describe the country as it was before the war.

2) Explain how the war changes the people of Japan.

3) Explain how the war changes the narrator.

Essay Topic 2

The picture of Joan of Arc fascinates the narrator in one of his earlier memories. Upon learning the knight in the photograph is a woman, the narrator loses interest in it. Why?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout his childhood, the narrator struggles with the definition of love.

1) Growing up, who does the narrator believe love is really meant for?

2) Upon becoming jealous of Omi, why does the narrator swear off love?

3) How does the narrator's perception of love change as he gets older?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 633 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample