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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. How old is Nomura-obasan?

2. How much did the government offer to pay Grandpa Kato for his Cadillac during WWII?

3. What does "Obasan" mean in Japanese?

4. When Aunt Emily comes to visit Obasan and Naomi, who picks her up from the airport?

5. Which of the following best describes the conditions of the internment camps?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened after Naomi's parents purchased her baby chicks?

2. Why do Mr. Barker and his second wife come to visit Obasan in her home?

3. What happens between Stephen and his classmates to alert the family that racism is spreading through the schools?

4. What types of items does Naomi find in the boxes in Obasan's attic, and what questions do these items raise in her mind?

5. What are Sick Bays?

6. What is the condition of the internment camps, and why is Naomi's father sent there?

7. What reaction does Naomi have to the newspaper clippings and letters that she finds of Aunt Emily's?

8. What is the story of Momotaro?

9. What does Naomi know about the people that made up her community in Slocan?

10. What is Naomi accused of when she is at the bathhouse, and how does she respond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Stephen struggles the most with his inability to balance culture.

Part 1) Compare / contrast Stephen's relationship to his culture as a child with his relationship to his culture as an adult.

Part 2.) Generate a list of events that highlight the way that Stephen began to pull away from his culture.

Part 3.) Theorize whether or not Stephen will return to his cultural roots based on the way that the novel ended.

Essay Topic 2

There are many epistolary, or written, elements to the novel. Create a list of three elements used throughout the novel as ways of recording history for the family, and describe the ways that these element affected Naomi's relationship with her family's truths.

Essay Topic 3

All throughout the novel, Naomi struggles with authority in her life.

Part 1.) Explain the ways that Naomi struggles with authority in her personal adult life.

Part 2.) Describe the ways that Naomi's struggle with authority begins to penetrate her dreams.

Part 3.) Theorize why Naomi has such trouble with authority based on her childhood.

(see the answer keys)

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