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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. What does Yoko liken her blanket to?

2. How does Ko change her appearance?

3. Why do the soldiers quickly leave the boxcar in which Yoko, Ko, and Mother are located?

4. What does Yoko study at school in addition to calligraphy and Japanese dancing?

5. Which character is bandaged from head to toe?

Short Essay Questions

1. If you were to give Chapter 2 a title, what would it be, and why?

2. Describe Yoko's emotions as she, Ko, and mother head for Japan.

3. Why do you think Hideyo returns home to retrieve the family photo album?

4. Why does mother not want to look as the train passes their house?

5. Why do the students perform at the hospital?

6. For the first time, Ko cries as the family sets sail towards Japan. Why do you think she cries?

7. Yoko's family has little time to pack when they left their home. They have to decide between items necessary for survival and items which are of sentimental value. What item of sentimental is revealed in this chapter and what is its significance?

8. What is the symbolism of Yoko's Mt. Fuji paperweight?

9. Early in Chapter 5, Ko wishes that Yoko had been killed. Do you think she still feels this way at the end of the chapter? Why or why not?

10. How is Yoko's family's life different during the day and at night?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think there is such a heavy emphasis on education throughout the book?

Essay Topic 2

Upon learning that her story would be published, Yoko said, "I competed against life and death when young. And I won." Choose three critical turning points in the story in which Yoko had to compete "against life and death" and describe how she emerged victorious.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the role of kindness in the book. Give specific examples of the kindness that Yoko and her family members receive from others.

(see the answer keys)

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