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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. Where does the narrator think it might not be bad to end his life?

2. What effect does the whiskey have on the narrator in Chapter 27?

3. How many people are at the laundromat when the narrator arrives?

4. Why does the Caretaker collect the instruments?

5. What does the narrator first notice about the musical instruments?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain what the narrator thinks about the stars as he is making his way through the underground escape route towards the end of Chapter 29.

2. Explain what the Professor says is a way out of the situation the narrator finds himself in in Chapter 27 and why it would work.

3. What does the narrator say in Chapter 37 about "...tuning in on the particulars of the world" and why is that important?

4. How does the narrator explain his decision in Chapter 40?

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

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

7. Explain what the Colonel tells the narrator about the digging of the hole in Chapter 30.

8. What doubts about leaving the Town does the narrator voice to his shadow in Chapter 32?

9. 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.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the video game the Tokyo narrator plays while waiting for his date with the librarian and draw parallels to his own situation. Describe the video game the Tokyo narrator plays while waiting for his date with the librarian and draw parallels to his own situation.

Essay Topic 2

Explain what the Townspeople, the shadow and the Professor say about the beasts and use these varying viewpoints to explain the role unicorns play in the novel as a whole.

Essay Topic 3

Using the death of the beasts, the death of shadows and the prospect of the Tokyo narrator's own death as examples, explain how Murakami presents the theme of mortality in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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