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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Childan's mystery client wish to purchase?
(a) Antique American furniture.
(b) An ancient treasure map.
(c) Authentic Civil War guns.
(d) Pre-war political buttons.

2. What upsets Tagomi causing him to leave the special session of the Foreign Office?
(a) The evil in the world.
(b) Loss of German supremacy.
(c) Appetizers he was served.
(d) A diagnosis he earlier received.

3. When Childan returns to his office in Chapter 4, who does the client waiting for him claim to represent?
(a) A businessman from the Middle East.
(b) A leader of the Third Reich.
(c) An Admiral of the Imperial Army.
(d) An agent from the Trade Commission.

4. What do phrases like "the fussy, brisk voice," "barely polite," and "deliberately mispronounced his name" initially tell us about Tagomi's character?
(a) He is uneducated.
(b) He is overworked.
(c) He is insecure.
(d) He is arrogant.

5. What word best describes Childan's overall opinion of the Germans?
(a) Admiration.
(b) Anger
(c) Distrust.
(d) Gratitude

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Rita note her parents said would have won WW II if he had lived?

2. What Axis power is most accepting of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy?

3. How does the simile, "like a little animal, not important, but smart" describe the way Joe acts?

4. What does Childan learn about the carrier ship Syokaku from the Tokyo Herald?

5. What does Rita, Wyndam-Matson's girlfriend, suggest that he should do to handle the problem which he learned about from Calvin?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the close of Chapter 6, we find Frank and McCarthy excited about starting their jewelry business. Despite this, Frank has some real concerns. Why? Are they legitimate?

2. What appears to be the source of Juliana's depression at the start of Chapter 3? Why might this be considered to be ironic?

3. In Chapter 3, what suggestion is the author making by putting Hitler in a sanitarium and then noting that the present world in this novel is the product of his mind? What similarities are seen in the thoughts of Juliana and Baynes to support this view?

4. How does Baynes react to Tagomi's apartment? How do his thoughts and reactions to Tagomi's possessions and comments further define his character?

5. One aspect of science fiction is that there is an element of the real world in it. What similarities can be seen in World War II and its aftermath as related in the High Castle and the history as we know it?

6. When told by the university that "there is a regular industry turning out these fakes," Childan gets angry and insists that this is only a rumor. Why is he in such denial even when the proof lies before him?

7. In Chapter 5, Tagomi tells Baynes that many books like the I Ching and The Bible are alive. What does he mean by this? How does this appear to be supported in the text up to the close of this chapter ?

8. Bigotry is common and accepted without question in the former United States of Philip Dick's world. How does the author reveal this? What seems to be the reason behind this?

9. Childan says of the Kasouras, "these new young people, of the rising generation, who did not remember the days before the war or even the war itself, - they were the hope of the world." What is meant by this? How do the Kasouras appear to prove him right?

10. Compare the reactions of Childan, Calvin and Wyndam-Matson to the discovery of the fake guns. What point does the author seem to be making about the business world as he sees it?

(see the answer keys)

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