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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 Yasuckichi have to write for Lieutenant Honda?

2. What does the narrator say he does during his mother's funeral?

3. What word does the author hear over the phone?

4. What kind of beauty does Honjo appreciate?

5. What does Shinsuke blame for his lack of physical prowess?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Shinsuke struggle to make friends?

2. What does the narrator say he remembers about his mother?

3. What does the Life of the Stupid Man say about Akutagawa's state of mind?

4. How does Shinsuke deal with what he calls his fake parents?

5. What does the narrator remember about his father?

6. Describe the image at the river Shinsuke says affects him deeply.

7. Why does the storyteller think Oshino is so ordinary?

8. How does the author end the story?

9. What does the doctor say is wrong with the baby?

10. Summarize the Spinning Gears story.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What was the structure of feudal Japan? What problems does these author highlight about feudal Japan? What within the system does the author suggest created these problems?

Essay Topic 2

What does the reaction to Yasukichi's eulogy say about human nature? What does Yasukichi's still have to learn about human nature? In what way will the reaction to Yasikichi's eulogy improve his writing?

Essay Topic 3

What is the moral of the Spider Thread story? What does this moral of the story say about the Buddhist religion.?

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