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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 language is Nagasawa teaching himself in Chapter 8?

2. To whom does Toru turn for advice on his relationships with Naoko and Midori?

3. What kind of club did Midori join when she entered university?

4. Who taught Hatsumi to play pool?

5. What do we learn happens to Hatsumi?

Short Essay Questions

1. What purpose does Toru discover for the flag?

2. What is Toru's opinion about Nagasawa and Hatsumi's relationship?

3. Describe Naoko's sister.

4. How does Toru get Midori's father to eat?

5. Describe Toru's apartment.

6. Where did Hatsumi learn to play pool?

7. What happens in the middle of the night on Toru's second night in the women's apartment?

8. What is Toru's answer to Hatsumi's question of why he sleeps with random girls when he doesn't find much pleasure in it?

9. How does Nagasawa think he and Toru are alike?

10. What happened to precipitate Reiko's first mental breakdown?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author's use of foreshadowing throughout this novel enhance or detract from the story? Be specific.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout "Norwegian Wood" there are a lot of ways in which characters have difficulty communicating. Midori's father can barely speak. Naoko has trouble writing. Toru isolates himself at his house and loses touch with everyone he knows. Discuss the novel's position on the importance of communication.

Essay Topic 3

One of the themes Murakami develops throughout "Norwegian Wood" is the idea of a connection between the mind and the body. Choose two characters and discuss how that connection or disconnection is exhibited in the novel.

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