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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. Where does Goro-san offer to employ Mozasu in Book Two, Chapter 11?

2. What does Yoseb learn when he goes to the church looking for everyone in Book Two, Chapter 1?

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

4. Why does Tamaguchi-san want the war to continue in Book Two, Chapter 7?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the novel describe Ikaino in Book One, Chapter 12?

2. What does Sunja think about herself and her family when she realizes Hansu will not marry her in Book One, Chapter 6?

3. What is Goro-san's character like and why is he so successful at Pachinko as described in Book Two, Chapter 12?

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

5. Why is Sunja so determined to pay off Yoseb’s debt in Book One, Chapter 16?

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

7. What things does Isak ask Sunja about marrying him in Book One, Chapter 9? Why does he ask these these?

8. How does Isak describe Yoseb to Sunja in Book One, Chapter 13?

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

10. What does Hansu tell Kim Changho about the Korean nationalist groups in Book Two, Chapter Nine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Noa writes the Baek family after finding out Hansu is his father, Yoseb thinks, "he could understand the boy's anger, but he wanted another chance to talk to him, to tell Noa that a man must learn to forgive---to know what is important, that to live without forgiveness was a ind of death with breathing and movement" (318-19).

Choose at least two examples of characters either asking for, or have already asked for, forgiveness. How do their choices to forgive or not to forgive affect their lives and mental outlooks? Who asks for forgiveness and why? For the person who is asked for forgiveness, why or why not do they choose to forgive? Compare these examples to examine how forgiveness is a theme in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

How is Pachinko arranged as a whole novel? Examine the structure of Pachinko in the first section, the second section, and the third section. Why is the novel divided in this way? What does each section say on its own, as an individual book? What is the message of the three sections put together overall? Consider the titles of each section as well as the epigraphs. What does the structure of the novel and the use of three sections say about the story as a whole? Use textual evidence to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

The role of sex and the way romantic relationships are formed changes throughout Pachinko from beginning to end. What brings about these changes? Research some of the historical background and use at least three sources to support your essay. How did historical changes and modern inventions change the way relationships were formed and consummated? How is love a part or absent from romantic relationships at different times? Relate at least two characters, one from the beginning of the novel and one from the end, to show how the historical background relates to the novel.

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