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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. Why is Ono surprised at Setsuko's view of Noriko's marriage negotiation?

2. What does Matsuda say the smell of burning means now that the war is over?

3. What remains of Sugimura's planned Kawabe Park?

4. What does Matsuda's neighbor boy do each day?

5. When does Ono feel the sense of triumph he had hoped for?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Matsuda believe was his and Ono's great misfortune?

3. How does Ono console himself that he did not visit his old friend as often as he had intended to?

4. Why is Ono irritated at Setsuko's insistence that Saito never heard of Ono until the miai?

5. How does Ono explain Naguchi's suicide to Ichiro?

6. Years ago, Matsuda had accused Ono of having a narrow artist's perspective. What does Ono say about his perspective now that he is retired?

7. How does Matsuda console himself when thinking of his actions during the war?

8. What does Matsuda say the smell of burning most likely means now that the war is long over?

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

10. What happened to Moriyama's best student, Sasaki?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the personalities of Noriko and Setsuko based on their conversation and behavior. Remember that Ono comments on the character of the two girls. Do your observations agree with his?

Essay Topic 2

What do you make of the fact that Ono's paintings are not on display even in his own home, and that he will not show them even to his own grandson? What does it tell you that Ono will not draw or paint with Ichiro, although he encourages the boy to draw? What does it tell you that at the end of the story he tells Matsuda that he is painting again? Analyze what Ono's art work means to him in the context of these facts.

Essay Topic 3

Ono recalls a rumor that Sugimura built a long corridor in his house to distance himself from his parents. Analyze Ono's relationship with his own father and with his two mentors, Takeda and Moriyama. Consider also that his daughters have moved at a distance from him, visiting only once a year. What do you think Ishiguro is telling his readers about parent-child relationships? Do you agree with his ideas?

(see the answer keys)

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