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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 old friend does Ichiro see again at his mother's funeral?

2. What does Ichiro learn from Kenji's father?

3. How many customers are in the Burnside Cafe when Ichiro walks through the door?

4. Who does Kenji blame for the problems he has had since going into the army?

5. This is the best way to describe the book's ending:

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes the priest at the funeral stand out?

2. What news does Emi share with Ichiro after his mother's funeral?

3. What makes Kenji's family different from Ichiro's family?

4. Why does Ichiro go to the Christian Rehabilitation Center?

5. What does Ichiro's behavior to the Japanese waiter at the Burnside Cafe symbolize?

6. What does Ichiro understand about his mother after her death?

7. What does Ichiro finally start to understand about his past after taking the job at the Christian Rehabilitation Center?

8. What does the violent ending provide Ichiro?

9. What does finding a job represent to Ichiro?

10. Why does Ichiro's father feel a sense of relief following Ichiro's mother's death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Emi represent to Ichiro? Is she a positive or negative influence on him? Please support your answer with specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Is Ichiro the protagonist or antagonist in the novel? Could he be considered a hero or a villian? Explain your answers by citing examples and reasons why he is one or the other.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the discrimination against blacks and Japanese-Americans throughout the book. Give examples. What were some parallels in the way the two minority groups were treated? How did they treat one another? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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