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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 call on the telephone at the beginning of Chapter 37?

2. What does the narrator eat with his beer at the beer hall after buying his new clothes?

3. What does the chubby girl begin reading in the narrator's apartment?

4. What does the shadow call the process of removing the discharges of mind that rise each day?

5. How does the shadow know the Town has an exit?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe the Town's power source.

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

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

6. How does the Caretaker of the Power Station feel about the musical instruments?

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

8. Describe the significance of the music in Chapter 36.

9. Describe the scene when the narrator first enters the laundromat.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a detailed characterization of Murakami's use of literary and musical references, describing his choice of usage and explaining how these choices add to the development of the characters.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the first two chapters of the book. In the first chapter, the narrator is stuck in an elevator. In the second chapter, the beasts and the coming of autumn are described. Compare and contrast the tone of both of these chapters.

Essay Topic 3

Describe what happens when the Tokyo narrator remembers his shadow on the movie screen while underground and explain the significance of this event has for the narrator.

(see the answer keys)

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