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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 does Kunihiko know where everything is in Eiju's apartment kitchen?

2. How does Mike describe the first few months living with Ben?

3. Where had Mike lived with his parents before they moved to America?

4. What does Mike realize Mary and Harold are doing with him and their daughter?

5. Who does Mike eventually partner with to do a pop-up restaurant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mike eventually realize Mary and Harold, his neighbors, have in mind for him?

2. What does Eiju say when Mike tells him he is gay in Part III?

3. What happens to Eiju as he gets sicker and sicker?

4. What is very upsetting to Mike about how his father Eiju abandoned him and Mitsuko?

5. What upsets Mike about Ben's attitude towards the neighbors?

6. Why does Mike realize his mother was taking him out for fancy dinners for a time?

7. What seems to surprise Ben about Mike's reaction to his telling Mike he is HIV positive?

8. What is unique about Mike's neighborhood in Texas?

9. Why is Ryutaro so loyal to Eiju?

10. How does Eiju feel about tourists in his bar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How would you describe Mike's relationship with his mother Mitsuko? Is it fair to say it is as Mitsuko describes it, that is, as being "very close," in Chapter 3? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Mike's experience of poverty in childhood shape his perceptions as an adult? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How would you describe Benson's relationship with Mitsuko, and how does this relationship change over the course of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 614 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample