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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. For more than a month, Dr. Sasaki works...

2. How does Mrs. Nakamura's husband die?

3. What do the six survivors in Hiroshima, who John Hersey writes about, still wonder?

4. Once Mrs. Nakamura takes her children out into the street, what does she worry about?

5. When a roar of approaching planes is heard at Asano Park, the baker commands people to take off garments having what color?

Short Essay Questions

1. What may have saved Dr. Sasaki's life the morning of the bomb?

2. Describe Dr. Terufumi Sasaki.

3. How does Dr. Sasaki work at the Red Cross Hospital under the horrific circumstances?

4. What are the weather and conditions like as Dr. Fujii walks over the bridge after the bombing?

5. Prior to the bombing, why do the police question Mr. Tanimoto several times?

6. What is the weather at Asano Park like?

7. Describe Dr. Masakazu Fujii and his lifestyle prior to the bombing.

8. The day of the bombing, what is Mr. Tanimoto's morning like?

9. What is Mrs. Nakamura doing the morning of the bombing?

10. After the bomb hits, what does Mr. Tanimoto see from the mound in the garden?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After the bomb drops, Dr. Sasaki and Mr. Tanimoto put a great deal of efforts in helping others.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the characters of Dr. Sasaki and the Reverend Mr. Tanimoto. How are they the same? How are they different?

Part 2) In general, who works harder, Dr. Sasaki or Mr. Tanimoto? Cite three examples from the book to support your case.

Part 3) How are the two men affected differently/similarly by what happens to Hiroshima? Cite examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Miss Sasaki and Mrs. Nakamura are the two women among the six main characters.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the characters of Miss Sasaki and Mrs. Nakamura. How are they different? How are they the same?

Part 2) What are Mrs. Nakamura's major struggles following the bombing? What are Miss Sasaki's major struggles? How do these women's lives turn out in the end?

Part 3) How would Mrs. Nakamura's life and Miss Sasaki's life been different had they had men in their lives?

Essay Topic 3

John Hersey portrays the lives of six survivors of the atomic bomb.

1. Does Hersey give equal content to each character's story in the book or does there seem to be a preference over one or the other? Cite examples to prove your theory.

2. Why were these six characters chosen for the book? What similarities and differences do they possess that enables the story to be told effectively?

(see the answer keys)

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