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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 often does Sensei go to the cemetery to visit his friend’s grave?

2. The narrator tells Sensei in Part I: Sensei and I, “I value your opinions because they are the results of your” what?

3. What does Sensei’s wife send home with the narrator after he stays with her to watch for burglars in Part I: Sensei and I?

4. What Buddhist inscription does the narrator describe on one of the tombstones in the cemetery in Part I: Sensei and I?

5. Sensei asks the narrator while walking through the cemetery in Part I: Sensei and I, “You have never thought seriously of the reality of” what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator tell Sensei of his father’s health when he returns to Tokyo in Part I, Sensei and I? How does Sensei respond?

2. What does Sensei ask Soseki on their walk in the tree nursery after Soseki has completed his thesis in Part I, Sensei and I?

3. What makes Sensei stand out to the narrator when he first sees him? Why does he seek Sensei’s company?

4. What does the author of the Forward say of Soseki Natsume’s education and works?

5. 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?

6. Why does the narrator return home in Part I, Sensei and I? How does he depict his first days there?

7. Describe the setting of Kokoro. Where does most of the action in the novel take place?

8. What does Sensei’s wife reveal about her feelings for her husband while she and Soseki are in the house watching for burglars in Part I, Sensei and I?

9. Who is the translator of Kokoro? What reasons does he give for his Soseki’s biographical information in the book’s Forward?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of “the second son” in Kokoro. Soseki, Sensei's uncle, and K are all second sons of their families. What sense of estrangement do each of these characters experience from their families as they struggle to find identities and career paths?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Sensei’s opening words to Soseki in Part III, Sensei’s Testament. What does Sensei tell Soseki regarding their previous discussion of trust? How does Sensei explain his lack of correspondence after Soseki’s letter? When does Sensei say he began to respect Soseki?

Essay Topic 3

Women’s Roles in Kokoro

a. Discuss the differences and similarities between gender roles in the novel. How do expectations of men and women differ in terms of education, society, and culture?

b. Compare and contrast Shizu and Soseki’s mother in the novel. How does Soseki view his mother’s opinions versus those of Shizu?

(see the answer keys)

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