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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 Yoseb tell Isak not to do to avoid trouble in the ghetto in Book One, Chapter 12?

2. What does Sexton Hu mouth that gets him and the others arrested as described in Book Two, Chapter 2?

3. How had Sunja been proud of her father's kindness as described in Book One, Chapter 9?

4. Why does Isak feel spoken to by the Lord to marry Sunja in Book One, Chapter 8?

5. Who is Mozasu's favorite wrestler in Book Two, Chapter 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sunja understand forgiveness differently than Pastor Shin means it in Book One, Chapter 10?

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

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

4. 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?

5. What is Kyunghee's dream she tells to Sunja in Book One, Chapter 15 and why can she not do it?

6. Why do the Chung brothers say that Japan will never conquer China in Book One, Chapter 2? Why do they support China?

7. 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?

8. How do Hoonie's parents raise him in Book One, Chapter 1? Why do they not dote on him?

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

10. From Book One, Chapter 8, what happens in the Book of Hosea in the Bible and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Both Yoseb and Isak begin wanting to support their families, and then are in some way injured or kept from being able to provide. What are each of these men's outlook on life in the beginning of the novel? And then with the events that happen to them, how does their outlook on life change or stay the same? What keeps their character in place? Or what pushes them to snap? Compare and contrast their experiences, and create a thesis answering what leads them to act differently from one another when there are divergences.

Essay Topic 2

In the beginning of Pachinko, Hoonie's parents raise him according to the ideal that, "a spoiled son did more harm to the family than a dead one" (6). Later, we see characters such as Sunja and Hansu thinking and speaking about how their parents treated them. We see Noa commit suicide based on his parentage. How does the way different parents raise their children affect the way these children represent their families and carry out their lives? How do they raise their children as a result? Use at least two characters to develop an argument. Finally, does what Hoonie's parents use for raising their son hold true for the rest of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Four generations of women are shown throughout Pachinko. From Yangjin, to Sunja and Kyunghee, to Yumi, Etsuko, and Ayame, and finally to Hana and Phoebe. What are liberties and abilities within each generation? How does a woman's role, or the role she can have, change over time? Choose two characters to compare and contrast how they live their lives according to the times. What historical changes allow a woman's life to be different from one generation or one experience to another? How are the choices of each character dependent or independent from the men in her life?

(see the answer keys)

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