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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 Musashi tell the villages they are not?

2. Who does Seijuro forbid his brother to fight?

3. Who does Iora say has attacked the nearby village?

4. Who does Musashi want to tell about the dead bodies on the hillside?

5. What is Matahachi trying to find?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Matahachi trying to throw the gun away?

2. What is Kojiro motivation for becoming a samurai?

3. How does Musashi know that Kojiro is in town?

4. How does Musashi attack Denshichiro and his followers on the mountain?

5. What does Jo admit under questioning from Takuan?

6. What is Kojiro's attitude towards his hosts at the beginning of this section?

7. How does Sannosuke become Muasashi's student?

8. How does Geki help Musashi in this section?

9. Why does Musashi agree to stay with Yoshino at her teahouse?

10. Why is Matahachi happy with his punishment?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare Japanese and American culture.

1. What are the differences between the two cultures?

2. In what way have the two cultures influenced each other?

Essay Topic 2

What are the conventions of historical fiction? In what way is Yoshikawa's book typical of the genre? How does the book differ from Western historical fiction?

Essay Topic 3

Identify the main themes of the story. In what way are these themes relevant to the period? How does the author use character and setting to express these themes?

(see the answer keys)

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