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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 time was the narrator born?

2. What word does the narrator use to describe the occupation of a night-soil man?

3. Why is it ironic that the narrator cannot swim?

4. What occupation was once held by the narrator's grandfather?

5. After Omi is expelled, from what physical ailment does the narrator suffer?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator fascinated by the idea of death?

2. What impression is left by the narrator's memory of a night-soil man?

3. Why does the prince in the Hungarian fairy tale upset the narrator?

4. How is the grandmother affected when the narrator moves in with his father?

5. Describe the outfits the boys have to wear to school on "ceremony day"?

6. What attracts the narrator to the disinterested girl on the bus?

7. Why does the narrator feel he has cheated his way through life?

8. After witnessing Omi perform on the gym bars, why does the narrator decide he is no longer in love with him?

9. What sickness does the narrator suffer from and how does it affect him?

10. Who was Sebastian of Reni's "Saint Sebastian"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator spends much of his early life fantasizing about blood, death, and gore. Because of the war, the narrator is confronted with the reality of this world. Instead of being excited, as the narrator expected he would be, he is repulsed. Examine the dichotomy in the narrator's opinions towards violence.

Essay Topic 2

In spite of his attraction to men, the narrator finds true affection for Sonoko.

1) Why is the narrator attracted to Sonoko?

2) Why is she attracted to him?

3) What factors work against the success of the relationship?

Essay Topic 3

Although the narrator fears death, the life he lives is not his own. Write an essay supporting the argument that the narrator lives as though he is already dead.

(see the answer keys)

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