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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 Shinsuke call the diary he wants to write?

2. Why does the author say he has to stop the story?

3. What become Shinsuke's primary pastime?

4. What does the narrator's father try to bribe the narrator with?

5. What does Yasukichi translate?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the narrator remember about his father?

3. Summarize the Spinning Gears story.

4. What does the narrator remember about his eldest sister?

5. Why does Oshino need new legs?

6. How does Akutagawa's wife increase his panic?

7. Why does Shinsuke struggle to make friends?

8. What does Akutagawa hear on the phone?

9. Why is Oshino suddenly unable to control his legs?

10. What happens to the baby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Shinsuke's upbringing affect his character? What does the story say about Akutagawa's own character and the themes he has expressed in his other stories?

Essay Topic 2

Why is Xiao-er unable to take the second chance given to him? What does his character say about human nature in general? How could you argue against the author's point of view?

Essay Topic 3

How will O-Kim's life change now she has opened her eyes to real life? In what could be said that she be happier than she was?

(see the answer keys)

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