View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Jo kill the dog?

2. How is Ogin related to Takezo?

3. What does Takezo rename himself when he leaves the castle?

4. Where does Jo say his father now lives?

5. Who does Matahachi watch being killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Jotaro?

2. How do Takezo and Matahachi escape the battlefield?

3. How does Jo's father react when Matahachi takes food from him?

4. Why do the priest say they killed the men?

5. What is Matahachi's life like with Oko?

6. Describe Matahachi's reunion with his mother?

7. How is Matahachi's mother rude to Takeo's family in this section?

8. How does Takuan scare Takezo away from Otsu?

9. How does Oko prepare for Tsujikaze's visit?

10. What does Akemi feel about stealing from corpses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Takuan's role in the books? How would the book change if he were not one of the characters?

Essay Topic 2

How does Yoshikawa represent Japanese culture? How does it compare to other representations of Japanese culture?Does anyone criticize Yoshikaw's representation of Japanese culture?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 634 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample