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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. What word does the narrator use to describe Dr. Tokai's sense of humor?

2. The narrator states that Dr. Tokai had always kept his distance from women who expressed interest in what?

3. The day after Kino and his female customer have sex, what time does Kino awake to find the woman gone?

4. When Dr. Tokai finally falls in love, it is with a woman of what age?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the symbolism inherent in Kino's bar?

2. Describe the relationship between Kino and his aunt.

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

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

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

6. To what work is the title of the story "Scheherazade" referring and what is the significance of the title?

7. 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?

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

9. The narrator states that "affable" (83) people almost always have what other qualities?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the book.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the theme of courage within Haruki Murakami's short story collection Men Without Women. What is Murakami's message regarding courage and how do you know?

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