View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the angry student realize about Bird?

2. What request does Bird's colleague make of him?

3. Who does Bird encounter when he leaves the shop?

4. Of what is Bird convinced as he walks through the hospital?

5. What does the person in #54 give Bird before he leaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bird think about after he leaves the shop and how does he avoid learning about the birth of his child?

2. What is important foreshadowing regarding the tests of strength and Bird's encounter with the gang?

3. What is unusual about the doctor who speaks to Bird about the baby?

4. What is Bird's state of mind at the beginning of the book and what does the first chapter signify for his life?

5. What is the significance of Himiko's character in the story?

6. What does Bird observe when he visits his father-in-law at the university?

7. What is ironic about Bird's using sex to avoid responsibility?

8. What does Bird learn about the child's birth when he calls his mother-in-law?

9. Why did the author give names to only a few of the characters?

10. At what stage is Bird in his journey of personal transformation at this point?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the role of the family in A PERSONAL MATTER. What does it mean for each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical is this family to most Japanese families living during the 1960s?

Essay Topic 2

The author uses more than one iteration on the theme of disappointment. Identify at least two characters who either embody or experience disappointment then cite an example to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Explain what it means that Bird is a man who keeps running away. In what areas does Bird seemingly fail? How does Bird feel about these failures? What is the turning point where Bird refuses to run away any longer?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,094 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample