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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. Where is Sensei’s wife’s mother from?

2. What word from the narrative in Part I: Sensei and I, means requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking?

3. Sensei tells the narrator that there is no such thing as what in this world in Part I: Sensei and I?

4. 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?

5. What word from Part I: Sensei and I, mean the absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

4. What is foreshadowed through Soseki and Sensei’s discussion of trust in the first section of Part I, Sensei and I?

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

6. Where does the narrator first see Sensei? How does he go about approaching him?

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

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

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

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

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

Describe and discuss the character of Soseki’s mother in the novel. How old is Soseki’s mother in comparison with her husband? What levity does Soseki lend to his mother’s advice and opinions? How does Soseki’s mother compare with Shizu?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the setting of Soseki’s family home in the novel. How far from Tokyo do Soseki’s parents live? How is their home and estate described in the narrative? How does Soseki compare the rural people in his hometown to the people of Tokyo?

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