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 does Ono think about the spirit of the old floating world?

2. How does Ono want Noriko to appear during the miai?

3. What does Mrs. Kawakami call the pleasure district since the war?

4. How does Noriko say Ono has behaved since his retirement?

5. How long did Shintaro serve in the military?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Noriko accuse Ono of when he is working in the garden?

2. What is the difference in Noriko's behavior between her first and second miai?

3. Why does Ono's father burn his paintings?

4. How does Taro behave during the miai?

5. Ono says that he would not have made his admission of guilt at the miai had he not felt compelled to do so. What social situation compelled him?

6. How does Ono acquire his house for less than half its value?

7. How does the Bridge of Hesitation get its name?

8. Why does Enchi treat Ono in such a friendly way when he arrives to visit Kuroda?

9. Suichi says that American heroes are better role models for his son that Japanese heroes. Why would that be?

10. Why didn't Ono object to Noriko's marriage into a family that was below their station?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Naguchi is a character we never meet directly. Ono explains the musician's suicide to his grandson, Ichiro. There are some differences between this conversation and the opinions Ono expresses when Miyake tells Ono that his employer committed suicide and that Miyake finds the action admirable. Has Ono changed? If so, what has changed him?

Essay Topic 2

The constancy of change is a theme in this novel. Select a secondary character such as Shintaro, Matsuda, or Kuroda and analyze the changes they undergo as the story progresses.

Essay Topic 3

The Bridge of Hesitation is an important symbol in this story and Ono says that he spends a great deal of time there. What does the bridge represent? Are there various possible meanings? Consider the fact that in the midst of the destruction of much of the area, the bridge remained.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 799 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample