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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. Which character's birthday is celebrated in Chapter 16?

2. How does the narrator explain the presence of a pile of dirty dishes in her sink in Chapter 17?

3. Which character gives a music box as a birthday gift in Chapter 16?

4. It is revealed in Chapter 13 that the narrator keeps her end of the communication device behind what object in her desk?

5. The narrator calls her adopted dog Don because the name had been written on which item?

Short Essay Questions

1. For what reason does the narrator get particularly nervous when the Memory Police are searching her writing desk?

2. Which character does the narrator NOT consult about her decision to investigate the old man's disappearance and why?

3. What objects in the narrator's sink nearly result in disaster when the Memory Police see them in Chapter 17?

4. To what object is the narrator referring when she states in Chapter 19, "Never had I seen anything burn as brightly" (183)?

5. What gift does R bestow upon the old man in Chapter 16 and what hopes does R have for the present?

6. Which of the novel's symbols is revisited again within Chapter 22, echoing its earlier appearance in Chapter 5?

7. What illogical conclusion does the narrator come to about R after their first sexual encounter, though she knows quite well how illogical it is?

8. In what way do the narrator and R become more intimate over the course of his period of hiding?

9. How does the narrator acquire the dog named Don in Chapter 19 and what is the significance of her acquisition?

10. In what way is the theme of altruism demonstrated in Chapter 21 when an earthquake rocks the island?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Ogawa's novel from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the final passages included at the end of The Memory Police.

Essay Topic 3

How do the themes of deception and secrecy function within The Memory Police and what is Ogawa’s message regarding these themes?

(see the answer keys)

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