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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. How does Hoshino carry the entrance stone back to his hotel room?

2. What is the one thing that Hoshino wishes he could change about himself?

3. What color is the entrance stone?

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

5. What classical musician is the topic of conversation at the coffee shop that Hoshino frequents?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. How does Hoshino care for Nakata after he dies?

5. Why does Oshima wake Kafka in the middle of the night with a frantic phone call?

6. What happens to Nakata when Mrs. Saeki rests her hands against his chest?

7. How does Kafka react to the desolate village that the Japanese soldiers guide him to?

8. What is the origin of Kafka's name?

9. How does Colonel Sanders explain his physical form to Hoshino?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Both Kafka and Nakata are inexplicably drawn to Southern Japan in search of healing. First, describe the circumstances that draws each man away from his home. Then, compare / contrast the relief each man finds upon finally reaching his destination.

Essay Topic 2

When Kafka is still a young child, he decides to run away from home. First, explain the circumstances leading up to Kafka's decision to leave home. Then, describe the items Kafka took with him during his escape and the process through which he chose these items. Finally, describe at least two characters that helped Kafka during the initial days of his plan.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 878 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample