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. Who says, "No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself" (11)?

2. Where is Yoshiya when he acknowledges that he no longer cares who his father is?

3. At the end of the story, where does Junko fall asleep?

4. According to Yoshiya's friend, what can cure a hangover?

5. How long did Komura's wife spend in front of the television after the earthquake?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were Komura's friends puzzled by his marriage?

2. Why does Sasaki want Komura to go to Hokkaido?

3. How did Komura's wife feel about Tokyo?

4. Why does Yoshiya still live with his mother?

5. What does the note Komura's wife left behind say?

6. Why does Miyake like fire?

7. What does Miyake say when Junko asks her to wake her up?

8. What is the story about the UFO that the women tell Komura?

9. Why did Miyake never stock up on groceries?

10. What joke does Shimao make about what's inside the package Komura delivered?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the theme of existentialism in after the quake. How does Murakami portray existentialism? What questions do the characters ask? Do they find resolution?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the role of women in after the quake. Examine the text through a feminist lens, trying to find ways in which women advance the stories they are part of. How does Haruki Murakami approach women in these stories? What do you make of these depictions?

Essay Topic 3

Assess the power of shared experiences in shaping diverse personal narratives. How does the Kobe earthquake unify these stories and the characters in them?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 618 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample