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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 Mozasu do to get Yumi's attention in Book Two, Chapter 16?

2. In Book Three, Chapter 2, what does Sunja say hearing Yumi's backstory?

3. What does Akiko ask that upsets Noa in Book Two, Chapter 19?

4. What is Goro promoting Mozasu to in Book Two, Chapter 16?

5. What languages does the Baek family speak at family gatherings with Phoebe as described in Book Three Chapter 18?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sunja feel seeing Hansu in the kitchen with her in Book Three, Chapter 4?

2. Why does Sunja go to Koh Hansu with Noa in Book Two, Chapter 13 What does Koh Hansu say?

3. What does Etsuko think about her role as a mother in Book Three, Chapter 10?

4. Why does Phoebe find it difficult to live in Japan as described in Book Three, Chapter 16?

5. What does Yangjin say in her pent-up final thoughts to Sunja in Book Three, Chapter 12?

6. What does Noa realize about Akiko's attitude towards him after she interrupts his meeting with Hansu in Book Two, Chapter 19?

7. Why is Mozasu promoted to foreman of Paradaisu Seven in Book Two, Chapter 16?

8. How does Mozasu remember experiencing Yumi's funeral in Book Three, Chapter 3?

9. What does Hana tell Solomon in their final meeting in Book Three, Chapter 20?

10. What does Kyunghee say to Kim Changho's marriage proposal in Book Two, Chapter 13, and how does Kim respond?

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

Analyze Pachinko for its protagonist/antagonist relationships and overall structure. Choose two of the protagonist/antagonist relationships to compare to one another. How do you know one character is the protagonist and the other is the antagonist? What effect is achieved in the novel by having multiple protagonists and antagonists at different points in the novel? Use at least two textual examples to support your argument for each of the protagonist/antagonist relationships you choose.

Essay Topic 3

The history of the Christian church in Japan carries throughout the novel. How does faith in Christianity shape the lives of the characters? Why is Christianity seen as such a threat in the beginning of the novel? How do those who do not follow Christianity understand it? Has the understanding of Christianity in the larger society change from the beginning to the end of the novel? Use at least three textual sources and two outside sources to develop a picture of faith and examine how it relates to the events of the novel.

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