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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 Yangin go to get after Isak and Sunja’s marriage ceremony in Book One, Chapter 10?

2. What does Pastor Yoo tell the sister in the dispute in Book One, Chapter 14?

3. How many times does Yangjin give birth before Sunja survives in Book One, Chapter One?

4. What does Koh Hansu tell Sunja to be careful for in Book One, Chapter 4?

5. What does Hoonie learn at school in Book One, Chapter One?

Short Essay Questions

1. How has the war helped Tamaguchi? What does he think about the war continuing in Book Two, Chapter 7?

2. What figurative language does Sunja use to think about the stories Koh Hansu tells her in Book One, Chapter 5? Why does she try to store everything he tells her?

3. What secrets does Noa keep to himself in Book Two, Chapter 4? Who does he keep these secrets from?

4. How does Sunja deal with Mozasu's fighting in Book Two, Chapter 11?

5. What does the ajumma tell Sunja about a women's life and the man she will marry in Chapter Three?

6. Where and why are Pastor Yoo, Sexton Hu, and Isak arrested as described in Book Two, Chapter 2?

7. In Book One, Chapter 17, why is Yoseb so upset at Sunja for selling the watch?

8. What does Isak think about when he realizes he is sick with tuberculosis at the end of Book One, Chapter 3?

9. What is the propaganda in the newspapers Yoseb reads in Book Two, Chapter 1?

10. What does Yoseb think of the Japanese war in China in Book Two, Chapter 3? How does the way he thinks about it connect with the larger philosophy of Korean people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Isak tells Noa on his deathbed that "Men may be unfair, but the Lord is fair. You'll see. You will" (196). Does this idea that everything is fair in the end hold true for the novel? Choose two characters and explore their actions. Is what happens to them in the novel fair? Are their actions or what happens to them counterbalanced by anything else? What definition of "fairness" does the novel show?

Essay Topic 2

At the end of the novel, David Copperfield is brought up as Noa's favorite novel. Why does he like this particular book? Choose another example of intertexuality in the book (such as the Bible, the book of "Hosea, "Daniel Deronda," the epigraphs at the beginning of each book). How do these stories map out and connect to the story in the novel? Do some background research and pull excerpts from the intertextual sources to support its connection to Pachinko. How does having multiple examples of intertextuality expand different sections of the text?

Essay Topic 3

Isak tells Noa, "You are very brave, Noa. Much, much braver than me. Living every day in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage" (197). How do the Japanese view and treat the Koreans in the novel? How do Koreans in the novel deal with the prejudice shown to them by the Japanese? Choose at least three characters, and compare/contrast their views against one another. Develop a thesis answering the question: what allows them to carry on life in the face of discrimination and prejudice? What shapes their ability to handle what happens to them? Some examples to chose from may be Mozasu, Yoseb, Noa, Sunja, and Hansu. Explain what the characters you choose have to deal with and then show how they are or are not able to handle certain aspects of discrimination.

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