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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. When Kafka first meets Sakura, what does he wonder about her?

2. On the day the children collapsed in the woods, how did the teacher describe her emotional state?

3. What does Natsume Soseki do for a living?

4. Who prophesies that fish will fall from the sky?

5. What word fills in the note that Oshima wrote in the margins of Kafka's book: "One must act responsibly for one's ________"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What confession does Oshima make when the stern women accuse him of being misogynistic?

4. What conclusion did Doctor Nakazawa reach after testing the sixteen school children found unconscious in the woods?

5. What does Hoshino do during the time that Nakata sleeps at their hotel?

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

7. What advice does Crow give to Kafka before they run away together?

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

9. Who is Sakura?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the text, Oshima is a wealth of literary knowledge. Choose at least two literary works that Oshima discusses, and explain what he teaches Kafka about each work. Then, explain what Oshima means when he says that "there is such a thing as metaphor in the corporeal world." How does this statement apply to the novel as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Mrs. Saeki's song proves to be the thread that unifies all of the story lines in this novel. Choose at least two key elements of Mrs. Saeki's song and explain how these elements tie the story lines of Nakata and Kafka together. Then, explain whether or not you believe Mrs. Saeki's song is significant enough to warrant the title of this novel, and why.

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