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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 color is Kafuku's car?
(a) Black.
(b) Yellow.
(c) White.
(d) Blue.

2. What does Kafuku tell Misaki Watari after stating that he has wanted to tell her for a while?
(a) That there is something very off-putting about her.
(b) That there is something very attractive about her.
(c) That there is something very sensual about her.
(d) That there is something truly maddening about her.

3. Tanimura accuses Kitaru of taking what action in relation to the song Yesterday?
(a) Butchering it.
(b) Making fun of it.
(c) Minimizing it.
(d) Attacking it.

4. What does Oba tell Kafuku about the social habits of Kafuku's future driver?
(a) He says that she has a husband.
(b) He says that she rarely talks.
(c) He says that she talks endlessly.
(d) He says that she has many friends.

5. The narrator states that the conversations between Kafuku and Takatsuki always come back to what topic?
(a) Love.
(b) Takatsuki.
(c) Kafuku's late wife.
(d) Politics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the man who routinely services Kafuku's car?

2. For what reason does Kitaru learn the Kansai dialect?

3. How does Kafuku feel about sitting in the back of his own car once Watari begins to act as his driver?

4. Kitaru's ritual when he arrives home involves the singing of the song Yesterday and what other action?

5. Oba tells Kafuku that his car, like all cars from what country, is "built to last" (7)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What vivid image does Tanimura create to depict the character of Kitaru in the first few lines of the story "Yesterday"?

2. How does Kitaru justify to Tanimura his butchering of the lyrics to the Beatles' song Yesterday?

3. What are the conditions of Misaki Watari's employment with Kafuku?

4. Provide a brief Marxist analysis of the story "Yesterday," focusing on one scene in particular to prove your claim.

5. In what activities do Erika and Tanimura take part during their date together?

6. Describe Misaki Watari's appearance.

7. How does the theme of perseverance emerge within Erika's comments about Tanimura's break-up with his high school girlfriend?

8. What does the narrator describe as "the most excruciating thing" (17) about Kafuku's experience of knowing about his wife's affairs?

9. How does Kitaru feel about "things being smooth and comfortable" (52) in life?

10. What is the significance of Kafuku's reaction to sitting in the passenger seat of his Saab after 12 years of driving?

(see the answer keys)

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