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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. The unnamed narrator remarks that her newest novel is about a woman who works as a what?

2. The unnamed narrator of The Memory Police states in Chapter 1 that her mother had been what type of artist?

3. How many objects are still within the drawers of the cabinet when R asks about them in Chapter 8?

4. Once R and the narrator fall into a predictable daily routine, what is the only time she lingers in R's room to chat?

5. Professor Inui tells the unnamed narrator in Chapter 5 that he and his family must move to what location in the morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the raid witnessed by the narrator in Chapter 4 different than all previous raids, according to the narrator?

2. For what reason does R at first reject the narrator's offer of help in Chapter 10?

3. Once R agrees to accept the narrator's offer to hide him, what instructions does she give him?

4. What type of document is presented within the text for the first, but not the last, time in Chapter 6?

5. Discuss an instance when Ogawa uses a metaphor or simile to demonstrate the desolation that begins to characterize the island after many disappearances.

6. For what reason does the narrator visit R's office in Chapter 10?

7. What is named as "the first duty of the Memory Police" (14)?

8. When an excerpt of the novel about the typist is provided at the start of Chapter 8, what has the protagonist lost?

9. What objects are disappeared within Chapter 6 and what is different about the disppearances in this chapter?

10. What type of artist was the unnamed narrator's mother and why is this detail significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Ogawa use sensory details in order to strengthen the text’s messages? Discuss at least two passages that include the use of sensory details and pull quotes from these passages to support your claim.

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of the old man's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Ogawa in depicting the old man and include in your discussion the reasons that Ogawa portrays him in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

Choose an object from The Memory Police, such as the cabinet, the birdcages, the garbage bags, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

(see the answer keys)

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