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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 photograph is the narrator obsessed with as a child?

2. How does the narrator feel about Omi after meeting him alone in the schoolyard?

3. In one particular story read by the narrator, what keeps a Hungarian prince alive?

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

5. What is the name of the female magician who inspires the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the other boys are impressed with the narrator's crass remarks about sex, how does the narrator feel?

2. Why does the narrator begin drinking and smoking?

3. Why does the narrator believe that his lack of interest in women may have to do with laziness?

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

5. How does the narrator feel about the prospect of grabbing Omi during a game of Dirty?

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

7. Why is Omi expelled from school?

8. Why does the narrator feel he has gone through life fooling not just others, but himself?

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

10. While in school with Omi, what type of boy is the narrator attracted to?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

When the narrator loses his sister, he experiences true devastation over the loss of a loved one. This surprises him, as believed himself incapable of feeling true emotion because of a lifetime of masks. Write an essay taking a stand on whether the narrator ever truly lost himself because of the masks that he wore.

1) Why does the narrator begin wearing masks?

2) How do these masks distance him from real life?

3) Does the narrator ever really lose himself? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The war changes the country of Japan and those who experienced it.

1) Describe the country as it was before the war.

2) Explain how the war changes the people of Japan.

3) Explain how the war changes the narrator.

(see the answer keys)

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