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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. When the narrator returns to Tokyo after meeting Sensei at the beach in Part I: Sensei and I, he has how long before the beginning of lectures at the college?

2. During what years did the Meiji era last, according to the author in the Forward?

3. When was Natsume Soseki born, according to the book’s Forward?

4. When the narrator first goes to see Sensei in Tokyo, it is how long since lectures have started at the university in Part I: Sensei and I?

5. Where is the narrator’s fellow vacationing student friend at the beach from in Part I: Sensei and I?

Short Essay Questions

1. When and where was Kokoro first published? What insight does the translator give to the meaning of the title in the Forward?

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

3. 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?

4. How does Soseki respond to Sensei’s remark about Soseki seeking love in Part I, Sensei and I?

5. 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?

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

7. How is Sensei’s drinking described in Part I, Sensei and I? Why is this significant?

8. What occurrence leads up to Soseki and Sensei’s discussion of guilt in love in Part I, Sensei and I?

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Soseki’s objectives in seeking out Sensei in Kamakura. What about Sensei appeals to the young man? How does Soseki go about striking up a conversation with Sensei? How does Sensei respond to Soseki’s proposed friendship?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss symbolic role that Emperor Meiji plays in Kokoro. What does Meiji represent metaphorically to the characters in the story? How does Meiji’s passing affect Soseki and his family? How does it affect Sensei?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Soseki’s studies at the university in Part I: Sensei and I. What is implied as Soseki’s focus of study? Where does he live while in Tokyo? What does Soseki have in common with Sensei regarding his education?

(see the answer keys)

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