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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 characters lies about seeing Kafka in order to protect him from the searching police?

2. Whose spirit does Mrs. Saeki think is living inside Kafka's body?

3. Who arranges for Nakata to stay at a posh apartment while the police are searching for him?

4. Which of the following spirits frequents Kafka's bedroom while he is sleeping?

5. On what day do Nakata and Hoshino arrive at the library?

Short Essay Questions

1. What arrangements does Colonel Sanders make for Nakata and Hoshino while the police are on their manhunt?

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

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

4. How does Mrs. Saeki react when Kafka confronts her about the possibility that she is his mother?

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

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

7. Why did Mrs. Saeki first open the entrance stone?

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

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

10. How do Nakata and Hoshino know that the entrance stone is working?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the repercussions of sleepwalking affect the characters. Choose at least two scenes in which a character commits a devious act while sleeping and compare / contrast the effects this action has on the character's life. Then, explain how the subconscious of the characters responds to the deepest desires of that character's soul.

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 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.

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