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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. Who does the narrator tell his shadow the Wall is really there to hold in?

2. What escape does the Professor offer for the dilemma the narrator is faced with?

3. What does the Librarian say is the key to finding her mind?

4. What does the narrator ask the Librarian to do for him when he is finished reading skulls?

5. Which song does the narrator finally begin to play on the accordion?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the beasts' feeding habits as observed in Chapter 26.

2. Why does the Librarian say the accordion is "the key" in Chapter 36?

3. How does the narrator react to the musical instruments in Chapter 28?

4. Explain the parallels between the video game the narrator plays at the beginning of Chapter 35 and his life.

5. What does the narrator do after arriving in his apartment in Chapter 31?

6. How does the narrator's shadow say he developed his plan of escape in Chapter 38?

7. What is the significance of the narrator's realization of what the accordion is and how to use it?

8. Explain the significance of the song "Danny Boy" for the narrator's life.

9. What does the narrator tell the librarian about why he got divorced?

10. Why does the librarian wake the narrator up in the middle of the night at the beginning of Chapter 37? Explain what happens and how the librarian and narrator react.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Name some elements of the "archetypal journey" and explain how the "Hard-Boiled Wonderland" narrator's passage through the Tokyo underground was an archetypal journey.

Essay Topic 2

Explain how the phrase "the End of the World" is used to link the two storylines together and explain what the end of the world really is.

Essay Topic 3

Consider the fact that the narrator in Chapter 37 says that he's never chosen to do anything of his own free will. Plead for or against the truth of this statement by contrasting it with the choices the narrator makes about his own life leading up to the end of the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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