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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 event were the Japanese-Canadians subjected to, an event that Naomi remembers frequently experienced?

2. Who does Naomi remember staring at her while she begged for help after witnessing the traumatic event with her animals?

3. During their relocation, what part of Stephen's body is in a cast?

4. What does Obasan give to the woman with the baby on the train?

5. When Aunt Emily comes to visit Obasan and Naomi, who picks her up from the airport?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened after Naomi's parents purchased her baby chicks?

2. How does the family react to the news that the war is over?

3. What types of items does Naomi find in the boxes in Obasan's attic, and what questions do these items raise in her mind?

4. Who goes back to visit the relocation camps in 1962, and what do they see there?

5. How does Naomi cope with the truth of her mother's life and death?

6. What is the rest of the Nakane family's reaction to Aunt Emily's revolutionary thinking?

7. How is Obasan described when Naomi goes to visit her?

8. What happens between Stephen and his classmates to alert the family that racism is spreading through the schools?

9. What significant event happens in the Nakane family on the day of their relocation, and how does Naomi respond?

10. How did Naomi's Uncle die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Naomi has a very strenuous relationship with her mother throughout the course of the novel. Create a timeline of Naomi's life in regards to her relationship with her mother. At what times did Naomi feel closest to her mother? At what times did she seem furthest away? What triggers were in place to prompt the changes that Naomi felt toward her mother?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, Naomi struggles with the question of whether she should remember the past or simply forget it. Compare and contrast the benefits and disadvantages in both of these strategies. Then, explain what Naomi's process was moving from a forgetful past to a future full of memories.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Kogawa uses many different forms of figurative language including personification, simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia. Describe the ways that Kogawa uses figurative language to propel the momentum of the storyline, and explain the ways that these tools of language affect the reader's relationship with the text.

(see the answer keys)

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