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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 does Nikkan tell Musashi he must learn?

2. Why does Matachi decide to leave his mother?

3. Whose money does Matahachi use to fund his search?

4. Who is Matahachi's mother with?

5. What does the sickle signify to the blacksmith?

Short Essay Questions

1. What signs are there that stealing from corpses is becoming a lucrative business?

2. What punishment so officials hand out to Takezo at the castle?

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

4. How does Musashi find Otsu again?

5. How does Musashi escape Osugi and Gon?

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

7. Why is Musashi initially ridiculed?

8. What are the reasons Seijuro cannot fight in this chapter?

9. How does Matahachi take advantage of Sasaki Kojiro's death?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare one of the characters to the person he or she was at the beginning of the book to the person he or she is at the end.

1. What did he or she hope to achieve at the beginning of the book?

2. What events changes his or her ideas about life?

3. How has the character changed by the end of the book?

Essay Topic 2

How do the books work as a series? Why did Eiji Yoshikawa decided to write a series of books instead of just one? How does Eiji Yoshikawa develop the story and character throughout the series?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 731 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample