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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. When the Master is playing, what does he do that is unusual, compared to other players?

2. Where does Uragami take Otake the day after the Master goes on retreat?

3. What does the Master do that resembles a violent struggle internally?

4. What does Uragami believe is responsible for the Master's death?

5. Where does Uragami meet Otake when he is upset with the Master?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the Master play the white stones versus Otake, who plays with the black stones?

2. How are the two players described in the beginning of the book?

3. How does the Master act during the game of go that is revealed in his breathing?

4. On the first day of play, what does Otake apologize for and why does he do this?

5. What does Uragami notice in a photograph of the Master that he adds in his article?

6. What is the ceremonial opening for the go game like?

7. How does the Master seem to have trouble understanding the new rules?

8. Why does Uragami feel touched by seeing the Master in the outbuilding?

9. How does Uragami explain why the Master fails to thank people on his own?

10. After the judges and reporters and Otake leave the inn, what does Uragami reflect upon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Knowledge is an important concept of the book. Who has knowledge, and in what way? Who loses or gains knowledge? Is Shusai's desire for knowledge the same as that of Otake? What is different about them? What about the members of the team Shusai was on? In what ways were these individuals similar in their pursuit of knowledge or influence, and in what ways were they different?

Essay Topic 2

Kawabata uses more than one iteration on the motif of socialism. Identify at least two motifs about socialism and workers' rights in the book. Then, cite an example to support each answer.

Essay Topic 3

Kawabata espouses a radical approach to game and thus related employment that would alter the structure of society. He describes the game player in The Master of Go as a proletariat like Marxian philosophy who is rebelling against the government in some ways. Describe the worker in The Master of Go. Do you think this is realistic and characteristic of today? Do you think the issues that Kawabata discusses are still relevant today and if so, in what ways?

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