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. How did Junko feel about attending school before she ran away?

2. According to Yoshiya, who is his father?

3. Who does Yoshiya live with?

4. According to Mr. Tabata, what did Yoshiya have to do to have his father revealed to him?

5. Who "gave himself to the flow of time" (67)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Shimao respond to Komura saying that he's come a long way?

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

3. Describe Komura.

4. How does Shimao reassure Komura?

5. How is Miyake able to paint?

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

7. What did Mr. Tabata tell Yoshiya about his father?

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

9. How was Miyake connected to the Kobe earthquake?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of bears in these short stories? Write about at least three of the bears featured in these stories.

Essay Topic 2

Write about the theme of emptiness, comparing and contrasting at least two stories from the collection. What does emptiness represent? How does Murakami represent emptiness?

Essay Topic 3

Which character grows the most in these short stories? Make a point for this character's growth using at least five pieces of evidence from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 571 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample