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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. Who originally comes up with the idea for R to hide from the Memory Police in the unnamed narrator's home?

2. What knitted object does the unnamed narrator give to the old man in Chapter 5?

3. By what letter of the alphabet does the unnamed narrator refer to her literary editor?

4. The unnamed narrator recalls that her mother had used what room in the house for her studio?

5. How many of the Memory Police's "dark green trucks with canvas covers in back" (20) are present at the raid in Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the black garbage bags symbolize in Chapter 2?

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

3. What does the old man do with the page of the old ferry log on which he and the narrator have written their plans for hiding R?

4. Explain the first line of the novel, which states, "I sometimes wonder what was disappeared first---among all the things that have vanished from the island" (3).

5. For what reason do the Memory Police visit the unnamed narrator in Chapter 2?

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

7. In Chapter 7, what claim does the old man make about the Memory Police while trying to reassure the narrator of her safety?

8. What type of routine do the narrator and R fall into once R gets settled in his room in Chapter 11?

9. Discuss an instance when Ogawa uses a metaphor or simile to describe R's ability to hold onto memories of disappeared objects.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Trace the characterization arc of the unnamed narrator over the course of the novel The Memory Police. Discuss whether the unnamed narrator is a round or flat character and whether she is a static or dynamic character.

Essay Topic 2

Perform a biographical criticism of The Memory Police by researching Ogawa's life and work. Be sure to create a strong and specific claim focused on this particular book and then support that claim with quotes from the book and from your research of Ogawa.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that discusses the symbolism of the cover art chosen for The Memory Police.

(see the answer keys)

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