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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. At the end of Chapter 15, May says that what about her new home sometimes overwhelms her?

2. What sound awakens Toru at the end of Chapter 37?

3. What does May Kasahara find herself doing often after the suicides at the Miyawaki house?

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

5. Who acted as May Kasahara's sponsor in securing her the factory job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the tabloid in Chapter 21 determine about the dummy corporation that owns the hanging house?

2. What plan does Kumiko reveal in Chapter 17?

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

4. What plans do most women in May Kasahara's factory have?

5. Why is Toru content in Chapter 25?

6. How does Lieutenant Mamiya meet Boris the Manskinner for the second time?

7. Describe Cinnamon.

8. What two bits of strange information does Malta Kano provide Toru in Chapter 30?

9. What circle of connections does Toru Okada uncover in Chapter 23?

10. What does Toru do after Nutmeg and Cinnamon stop coming to the residence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Haruki Murakami's novels almost always involve grown men who have not fully developed emotionally and several strong-willed women who force them to question their world-views. Write an essay about Toru Okada's relationship with the women of the novel. How is Toru's emotional growth stunted at the beginning of the novel? What shattering event forces him from his torpor at the beginning of the novel? Choose three women who enter his life after this event and discuss their relationship to him.

Essay Topic 2

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a vast menagerie of different storylines and themes. One theme that lingers beneath the surface of the central narrative is the legacy of the Second World War and its psychically wounding effect. Write an essay about the war's place in the novel, in two parts below:

Part 1) Write a paragraph about the veterinarian and his days in the Chinese zoo as the allies approach. How do the few events mentioned in the book about this man indicate an absurd force driving the war? What does Murakami mean to get across about the war by the fact that these stories are told by two characters that never fought in World War Two?

Part 2) Write a paragraph about the war stories of Lieutenant Mamiya. To what extent does Mamiya's narrative illustrate the brutal realities of war? How have these experiences affected Mamiya is the War's end? How are they a counterpoint to the stories of the veterinarian?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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