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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. For what reason does Kino quit his job in the sporting goods industry?

2. What object does Dr. Tokai instruct to be given to the narrator upon Dr. Tokai's death?

3. Dr. Tokai believes that upon reaching adolescence, all kids become what?

4. What specific reason is given for Habara needing a support liaison who can bring him groceries and other items he requires?

5. The protagonist of the story "Kino" owns what type of establishment?

Short Essay Questions

1. What elements are listed within Habara's list of the only "personal information [Scheherazade] had volunteered" (117)?

2. Describe Scheherazade's routine upon arriving at Habara's house twice per week.

3. Describe the relationship between Kino and his aunt.

4. What are Kino's feelings toward his ex-wife and her lover, who had also been Kino's colleague?

5. The narrator states that "affable" (83) people almost always have what other qualities?

6. Around the time Kino's cat disappears, what other creatures begins to show up outside of the bar and what do they symbolize?

7. Dr. Tokai describes himself to the narrator using what two adjectives?

8. Name the mysterious elements present within the story "Scheherazade" that are not resolved by the end of the story.

9. To what work is the title of the story "Scheherazade" referring and what is the significance of the title?

10. The unnamed narrator of the story "An Independent Organ" presents Dr. Tokai as an example of what type of person?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sensory details are used frequently by Murakami in order to create vivid pictures of each different character within the short story collection. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used by Murakami provide for the creation of vivid characters.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's messages about guilt and responsibility within Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Murakami's focus on the theme of transformation in Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women. What message is being sent about the nature of change?

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