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. What quantity of the special of the day on page 46 are employees to sell?

2. When does Keiko remember a rival store closing down and they were inundated with their customers?

3. On page 40, what does Keiko buy for breakfast?

4. Where does Keiko's sister live?

5. What excuse does Keiko give friends for working part-time?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the conclusion when Keiko's parents took her to see a therapist?

2. Who is Mrs. Izumi?

3. Why does Keiko have mixed feelings about visiting Miho?

4. When did Keiko realize she should not have stopped a fight between two boys with a shovel?

5. How does Keiko know the type of clothes a woman in her 30s, like her, should wear?

6. What reason does Keiko believe explains why Yakari thinks Keiko has changed?

7. How did Keiko learn about a job at a convenience store, and how did she get the job?

8. Why does Keiko say that the convenience store is a world of sound?

9. When Keiko kept getting in trouble and did not understand why her behavior was a problem, what did she do?

10. Why were Keiko's actions thought to be strange when she found a dead bird in the park when she was in nursery school?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Convenience Store Woman some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the storyline? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

Essay Topic 2

Shiraha berates Keiko for not being married. How does Shiraha view Keiko? What does his view of Keiko communicate about gender roles?

Essay Topic 3

Shiraha moves in with Keiko. Why does Shiraha move in with Keiko? How does living together benefit both of them? Who benefits the most and why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 949 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample