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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. Which of the following images is the subject of a painting hanging in Kafka's bedroom at the library?

2. What weather storms into the city after Hoshino steals the entrance stone?

3. How does Mrs. Saeki react when Nakata begs to speak with her about the entrance stone?

4. Who does Mrs. Saeki think is the boy from the painting in the library?

5. What is pachinko?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Colonel Sanders bring Hoshino to the religious shrine?

2. How does Mrs. Saeki convince Kafka to leave the world of the deserted village and go back where he belongs?

3. While wandering through the woods, what disturbing dream does Kafka have about Sakura?

4. How does Mrs. Saeki respond when Nakata bursts into her office demanding to talk about the entrance stone?

5. How does Kafka react when he is approached by the Japanese soldiers in Oshima's woods?

6. What conversation does Hoshino get into with the elderly coffee shop owner the day that the entrance stone is flipped?

7. How does evil try to escape Limbo?

8. What does Mrs. Saeki ask Nakata to do with her memoirs?

9. What book did Mrs.Saeki write after collecting interviews?

10. What happened to the two soldiers that went for a walk in the woods surrounding Oshima's cabin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, Oshima states that "imagination is a powerful force". First, explain what Oshima means by this statement. Then, explain how imagination leaves Kafka feeling emotionally responsible for two terrible events that occur, even though he is not physically responsible for them.

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

Throughout the novel, there is great mystery surrounding who killed Japan's most famous sculptor. First, describe how the murder occurs, and who the two main suspects are. Then, explain how Murakami uses this murder with two other major events in the novel - Johnny Walker's murder and Kafka waking up covered in blood. How do these connections add to the suspense of the novel as a whole?

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