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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. Why won't Mother leave for Aomori?

2. What is on the bulletin board on Yoko's fifth day of school?

3. Who attends the banquet with Yoko?

4. Where does the ship on which Yoko, Ko, and Mother were on dock?

5. Why was Hideyo happy at first when he sees people coming towards him on the tracks?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do you think the geese Hideyo sees flying are a symbol of anything? If so, what?

2. Describe the emotions Ko and Yoko experience in the first few pages of Chapter 9.

3. Describe the dichotomy of the Tokyo train station.

4. How does Yoko feel when she disembarks the boat in Fukuoka?

5. What are the physical and psychological obstacles facing Hideyo in Chapter 6?

6. Why does Hideyo not want to part with the clothes he gtes from the Lees?

7. How would you characterize Yoko's classmates' experience during the final months of the war based on the way she is received?

8. Why do you think Yoko titled her essay, "Understanding?"

9. What rituals and traditions do Yoko and Ko perform in honor of New Year's? What significance do they have?

10. Why do you think Hideyo is so attached to Yoko's fur coat?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

So Far From the Bamboo Grove is seen as a controversial book by some who have even fought to have it removed from English curricula. Why do you think people perceive this book as controversial? Cite specific examples from the text which could be construed as controversial.

Essay Topic 2

There are many times throughout the book when the characters have to lie or be dishonest with people. Under what circumstances did Yoko, Ko, Hideyo, and other characters have to lie throughout their ordeal? What were the consequences, if any, for their dishonesty? Might these lies ever come back to haunt the characters in their future? If so, how?

Essay Topic 3

What qualities and character traits does Yoko possess that enabled her to survive her ordeal? Compare and contrast these traits with those possessed by Ko and Hideyo. Based on what you know of their parents, which parent do you think each sibling takes after?

(see the answer keys)

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