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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. At what point in her life does Scheherazade say she had realized her former status as a particular creature?

2. For how many years had Kino worked as a sports equipment maker before buying the establishment at the center of the story?

3. To what work is Habara alluding when he decides to refer privately to his support liaison as Scheherazade?

4. What action had Dr. Tokai always taken when a woman had broken up with him so that she could marry her other boyfriend?

5. According to the narrator, for how many years has Dr. Tokai been performing the same romance rituals?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. The unnamed narrator of the story "An Independent Organ" presents Dr. Tokai as an example of what type of person?

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

5. Dr. Tokai describes himself to the narrator using what two adjectives?

6. Describe the relationship between Kino and his aunt.

7. Describe Scheherazade's routine upon arriving at Habara's house twice per week.

8. What is Dr. Tokai's eventual fate?

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

10. What attitude does the unnamed narrator have about the prospect of having children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Murakami's treatment of the topic of sex within his short story collection Men Without Women.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women while using the critical power theory lens of Marxist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the book's treatment of issues such as socioeconomic status, hierarchies, wealth, class, or any other issues related to Marxist theory that can be found in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's messages about guilt and responsibility within Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women.

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