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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 prophesies that fish will fall from the sky?

2. How long is the first bus ride on the day that Kafka runs away from home?

3. Which of the following characters suggests that Nakata finds the other half of his soul?

4. How old was Mrs. Saeki when she first fell in love?

5. In what year did the elementary school teacher admit to lying to authorities about what happened in the woods that day?

Short Essay Questions

1. What warning does Oshima give to Kafka before dropping him off at the cabin in the woods?

2. What hypothesis does Doctor Shigenori Tsukayama make about what happened to the school children in the woods?

3. How does Kafka react when Sakura begins telling him about her boyfriend, who lives in Tokyo?

4. What regimen does Kafka adopt and exercise everyday that he is away from home?

5. What does the elementary school teacher admit is the truth of what happened to Nakata in the woods?

6. In what situation is it possible for a body and soul to become separated without the body dying?

7. What happened to the man that Mrs. Saeki fell in love with as a teenager?

8. What unusual prophecy does Nakata make before leaving the police station?

9. What does Johnny Walker keep stored in his walk-in freezer?

10. What happens when Kafka wakes from a blackout at a religious shrine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Through the use of the entrance stone, Nakata realizes that humans can fully interact with the spirit world. First, explain how Nakata got his hands on the entrance stone. Then, explain how Nakata figured out how to use the entrance stone. Finally, explain what Nakata learned about himself through the use of the entrance stone.

Essay Topic 2

There are many talking animals in this novel. First, create a list of animal characters and explain their role within the novel. Then, discuss your reaction to the presence of talking animals in an adult novel. Was their integration into the storyline successful? Why or why not? How does their presence make this novel fit into the genre of magical realism?

Essay Topic 3

The woods surrounding Oshima's cabin are a place of great wonder to Kafka. First, explain Kafka's initial reaction to the woods and explain how his opinion of this place changed throughout the course of the novel. Then, give at least two examples of lessons Kafka learned about nature due to the time he spent in Oshima's woods.

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