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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 kindness does Matsuda perform for Ono?

2. How long before learning of his death had Ono visited his old friend?

3. Why does Matsuda say he never married?

4. How was Moriyama supporting himself after his painting was devalued and his school closed?

5. What shows European influences on Moriyama?

Short Essay Questions

1. What stylistic devices does Moriyama copy from the classic artist, Utamaro?

2. Why does Matsuda say he never married?

3. After re-establishing contact with Matsuda during Noriko's marriage negotiations, what contact have Ono and Matsuda had before Matsuda dies?

4. The reader learns some news about Noriko at the same time Matsuda does. What is the news?

5. Why did Moriyama's students never comment directly to him about his paintings?

6. When does Ono achieve his greatest feeling of triumph?

7. What does Matsuda say about his own perspective now that he is old and ill?

8. How does Ono answer Ichiro's question about why men drink sake?

9. Why does the smell of burning still make Ono uneasy while he is relaxing in Matsuda's garden?

10. Why does Ono approve of his teacher's distancing himself from his students' discussions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Twice in the story, authority figures burned Ono's paintings. Compare the two situations. Did they have the same purpose? Were they trying to help the young man or hurt him? How do you know? Use textual evidence to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

Ishguro uses political diction when describing the art world. When a student artist went against his teacher's style, he was called a "traitor," and his work an act of "treachery." Such students were banished from the fellowship of their fellow artists. What does this type of language tell you about the social or political world in which Ono lived? Is art important for political purposes?

Essay Topic 3

Ono expresses the belief that his confession of guilt about his war activities rescued the miai from discomfort, and made relaxed social interaction possible. Do you think other characters would have the same opinion? Would things look different from another perspective? Tell the story of the miai from Noriko's point of view.

(see the answer keys)

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