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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 Ichiro learn about his mother after her death?

2. Where does Ichiro decide he wants to go with Emi?

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

4. How does Ichiro's mother die?

5. Who does Freddie kick during the fight in the alley before running to his car?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Kenji bring as a present for his father and why?

3. Why does Ichiro's mother drown herself?

4. Describe Kenji's father's house.

5. What does Kenji's family do together that night?

6. Why does Tommy's memory stand out in Ichiro's mind?

7. How does Freddie die?

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

9. Why does Kenji tell Ichiro to go back to Seattle without him?

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

Describe how pain is used as a theme throughout the book. Which characters are moved and motivated by pain? What kind of pain are they suffering? How do they relate to each other?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how bitterness is a continuing theme throughout the novel. In what way is Ichiro bitter? Are other characters affected by bitterness? Are there any solutions to the bitter attitudes displayed by the characters?

Essay Topic 3

Why does Ichiro's father feel a sense of relief when his wife drowns herself in the bathtub? Give at least three reasons to explain your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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