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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 have Frank's feelings for the Japanese changed over the years?

2. How does Mrs. Kasoura seem to Childan?

3. How is the city of San Francisco described?

4. What is discovered about his merchandise that causes Childan to lose a major deal?

5. According to Tagomi, what aspect of the German massacre of the Jews caused the Japanese to refuse to participate?

Short Essay Questions

1. While consulting the I Ching, Frank thinks of how "his life was bound up with all other lives and particles in the universe." What does this mean? How might it be applied to Chapter 1 and serve as foreshadowing for the rest of the novel?

2. Compare the reactions of Childan, Calvin and Wyndam-Matson to the discovery of the fake guns. What point does the author seem to be making about the business world as he sees it?

3. In Chapter 3, what suggestion is the author making by putting Hitler in a sanitarium and then noting that the present world in this novel is the product of his mind? What similarities are seen in the thoughts of Juliana and Baynes to support this view?

4. Wyndam-Matson and his girlfriend get into a long discussion about historicity. What is historicity? What point does Wyndam-Matson make about it? How is this idea supported in the novel?

5. Childan says of the Kasouras, "these new young people, of the rising generation, who did not remember the days before the war or even the war itself, - they were the hope of the world." What is meant by this? How do the Kasouras appear to prove him right?

6. What do we learn about the German impact on television production and programming in Chapter 6? Of what significance is this to the storyline?

7. How do Childan's and Frank's perception of the Germans and the Japanese differ? What motivates these views?

8. What is the source of the conflict Frank faces over his reading of the I Ching? How does he finally interpret this message? What does he decide as a result?

9. What appears to be the source of Juliana's depression at the start of Chapter 3? Why might this be considered to be ironic?

10. What new insight does Chapter 5 give the reader into the character of Baynes? What might this be foreshadowing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Philip Dick used the technique of writing a story to create his novel The High Castle. What are the two stories presented? How do they compare? Do you think this is an effective technique? Explain why (or why not). Use specific references throughout your discussion to show the connections and prove ( or disprove) their relevancy and effectiveness.

Essay Topic 2

Science fiction is often said to have at its foundation a strong connection to the real world. Upon what historical realities did Philip Dick draw? What are some of the specific parallels he makes between Abendsen's world and his own? By doing this, how does this novel equally become a criticism of our own history?

Essay Topic 3

The novel The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is both popular and controversial in this society. Briefly discuss its contents and what makes the novel controversial. Then, discuss at least two characters who are supportive of its message and two who are opposed to it. With each side, explain

what influences their reaction to the book and how their behavior and/or thoughts demonstrate the side they represent. Be specific throughout.

(see the answer keys)

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