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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 many secret healers does M consult in Chapter 12's article?

2. What personal question does Toru Okada ask Kumiko in their internet chat in Chapter 22?

3. What is Toru Okada's main concern about chatting with Kumiko on a computer in Chapter 19?

4. Who is the first person that Nutmeg told the story of the zoo massacre?

5. Where on Noboru Wataya's body does Toru land a blow first?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does May Kasahara express her attitude to her wigs in Chapter 15?

2. How does May Kasahar's worldview change in Chapter 36?

3. What war atrocity occurs in Chapter 26's story?

4. How is Toru implicated in an assassination attempt in Chapter 33?

5. How does Nutmeg's marriage end in Chapter 20?

6. What does May Kasahara remember about the Myawaki's in Chapter 28?

7. How did Nutmeg first discover her healing powers?

8. What happens to Noboru Wataya in Chapter 37?

9. What problem does Ushikawa admit with Kumiko's meeting Toru, and how does he solve it in Chapter 19?

10. How does Toru Okada's opinion of his wife change over the course of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dreams play a key role in the advancing of plot in Murakami's novel. Write an essay, discussing the role that dreams play in Toru Okada's journey. Who does he meet while in a dream state? What new information does he gain from these dreams? Write a paragraph about each type of dream the Toru has over the course of the novel. As a conclusion, discuss whether the dream-world of the novel has any concrete bearing on the waking world.

Essay Topic 2

A major theme of Murakami's novel is personal reinvention, and this reinvention is often made most explicit in characters who choose to rename themselves and others. Write an essay about characters in the novel who choose to change names, focusing on three instances. What events transpire that precipitate this change? What is the nature of the change? Is the change permanent? Conclude each paragraph by stating the essential thematic purpose for this change in name.

Part 1) Toru Okada, when speaking with May Kasahara.

Part 2) Malta and Creta Kano.

Part 3) Toru Okada's cat.

Essay Topic 3

In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami juxtaposes the fantastical with a sort of general malaise that permeates modern Japanese society. Write an essay about this general malaise, describing how it manifests itself in the business world, in politics, and in popular culture. How do both Toru Okada and May Kasahara choose to ignore this malaise? Do they drop out of society? Conclude by discussing how this portrait of Japan reflect the Lost Decade in which the novel is set.

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