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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where was Natsume Soseki born, according to the book’s Forward?
(a) Osaka, Japan.
(b) Tokyo, Japan.
(c) Fukushima, Japan.
(d) Kamakura, Japan.

2. The narrator’s vacationing student friend is called home after they have been at the beach town for how long in Part I: Sensei and I?
(a) 6 days.
(b) 1 day.
(c) 10 days.
(d) 3 days.

3. What Japanese province is Sensei from?
(a) Nikko.
(b) Tottori.
(c) Ichigaya.
(d) Niigata.

4. By the end of what month is the narrator’s graduation thesis due in Part I: Sensei and I?
(a) September.
(b) April.
(c) February.
(d) July.

5. Sensei tells the narrator in Part I: Sensei and I, “[I]f you ever allow yourself to feel betrayed, you will then find yourself being” what?
(a) “Awfully morose.”
(b) “Excellently moved.”
(c) “Obstinately vengeful.”
(d) “Cruelly vindictive.”

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Natsume Soseki sent to England as a government scholar?

2. What does Sensei call the azalea tree that is taller than the others and reddish-brown in color at the tree nursery in Part I: Sensei and I?

3. What game does the narrator play with his father while he is recovering to appease his boredom in Part I: Sensei and I?

4. Sensei tells the narrator in Part I: Sensei and I, that “when a man dies suddenly” what “causes more trouble than anything else”?

5. How much money does Sensei give to the son of the tree orchard in Part I: Sensei and I?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the novel’s translator write about the language in Kokoroin the Forward?

2. What is the narrative point-of-view in Kokoro? How is this perspective fitting for the novel?

3. How does the narrator perceive Sensei’s relationship with his wife in Part I, Sensei and I?

4. What event does Sensei’s wife describe that hints at the reason Sensei changed and became removed from the world in Part I, Sensei and I?

5. Describe Sensei’s demeanor toward Soseki upon their meeting. Does Sensei welcome Soseki’s company?

6. How does Sensei respond when the narrator asks him to clarify his meaning of “guilt” in Part I, Sensei and I?

7. What leads to Soseki’s return to Tokyo after staying with his parents in Part I, Sensei and I? What does Sensei tell him when he first visits after his return?

8. What financial advice does Sensei give Soseki in the tree nursery in Part I, Sensei and I?

9. Why does Soseki want to know about Sensei’s past? What conversation takes place regarding trust at the tree nursery in Part I, Sensei and I?

10. What does Sensei reveal about greed and betrayal in his past at the tree nursery in Part I, Sensei and I?

(see the answer keys)

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