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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. With respect to the topic of "being quick on the draw" (86), the narrator references a film by what famous director?
(a) Federico Fellini.
(b) Cecil B. DeMille.
(c) Francois Truffaut.
(d) Alfred Hitchcock.

2. What specific reason is given for Habara needing a support liaison who can bring him groceries and other items he requires?
(a) Because he will be killed if he emerges from the house.
(b) Because he has agoraphobia.
(c) Because he does not like the bright lights in grocery stores.
(d) Because he cannot go outside.

3. At what point in her life does Scheherazade say she had realized her former status as a particular creature?
(a) During high school.
(b) During junior high school.
(c) During college.
(d) During elementary school.

4. Kamita gives Kino what explicit advice as Kino sets off on his long journey?
(a) He tells Kino to meet many nice friends during his travels.
(b) He tells Kino not to stay in one place for too long.
(c) He tells Kino to call Kino's aunt frequently during the trip.
(d) He tells Kino not to speak to anyone during his trip.

5. What kind of blemishes does Kino's female customer reveal to him the night they have sex?
(a) Birthmarks.
(b) Boils.
(c) Rashes.
(d) Cigarette burn scars.

Short Answer Questions

1. To Habara's amazement, Scheherazade tells him that she can recall what phase of her life?

2. The narrator begins the story "An Independent Organ" by announcing that Dr. Tokai had lived what type of life?

3. The first line of the story Scheherazade uses what two adjectives to describe the stories Habara's "support liaison" (121) tells him?

4. The narrator describes truly happy families as occurring as frequently as what other phenomenon?

5. Within the narrator's present-tense description of Dr. Tokai, what is NOT a characteristic the narrator lists?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the narrator states that Dr. Tokai had displayed no signs of an unstable personality, what traits does he list as being absent within Dr. Tokai's personality?

2. What are Kino's feelings toward his ex-wife and her lover, who had also been Kino's colleague?

3. How does Kino come to own a bar and what had he done for work prior to the purchase?

4. What elements are listed within Habara's list of the only "personal information [Scheherazade] had volunteered" (117)?

5. How is the theme of escape depicted within Habara's receipt of Scheherazade's stories?

6. How does the theme of appearance versus reality emerge within the stories that Scheherazade tells to Habara?

7. In what way is foreshadowing employed within the narrator's memory of his last conversation with Dr. Tokai?

8. Around the time Kino's cat disappears, what other creatures begins to show up outside of the bar and what do they symbolize?

9. How is the theme of secrecy depicted within the story entitled "An Independent Organ"?

10. How is vivid imagery employed within Scheherazade's depiction of her former life as a lamprey eel?

(see the answer keys)

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