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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 special object does Yuki carry with her to the wedding?

2. Why do Yuki and Aunt Aya go to Kobe at the beginning of Chapter 3?

3. Select the character below who says, "I remember her voice without her body and her body without her voice."

4. No matter how much she looks, what can Hanae never find in Yuki's room?

5. Who arrives just as Yuki goes upstairs to change her clothes on the day of the wake?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Hideki's emotions when Yuki leaves for college?

2. Name some of the qualities that Yuki shares in common with her late mother Shizuko.

3. In Chapter 14, describe how Takeo explains his understanding of the land reform after the war.

4. At the end of Chapter 12, Yuki decides that she must move on and leave behind empty spaces. To what is she referring?

5. Describe how Mr. Kimura appears to ten-year-old Yuki.

6. What are some of the reasons behind Shizuko's decision to end her life?

7. Why does Takeo believe that he is developing a hearing problem?

8. Why does Shizuko destroy one of the goodbye notes at the end of Chapter 1?

9. Why does Yuki find herself unable to speak about Monet's painting in front of the class?

10. Why does Yuki begin to pack away Shizuko's things without taking a single item for herself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the author's choice to include multiple points of view changes the perceptions of the reader.

• How has including the perspectives of other characters changed the role of Yuki? Has it influenced how one views her?

• Does reading the point of view of another character allow for more understanding or sympathy? Why or why not?

• How has this narrative technique helped the story? How has it hindered it?

• Why has the author chosen these particular sections to switch the point of view, particularly in the epilogue? What are some possible reasons to do so?

Essay Topic 2

Write the following essay from the first person point of view of Yuki.

• Why is honesty so important to you?

• Have you ever regretted being honest? If so, why? Have you ever regretted being dishonest? If so, why?

• Of the adults in your life, who is the most honest? Who is the least honest?

• If those around you were as honest as you, how would this impact your relationships?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how the book benefits from the author's choice to include flashbacks within many of the chapters.

Part 1) Why are the flashbacks important in defining characters? What are some examples when a flashback has brought new and interesting facts about a character to light?

Part 2) When considering the novel's overall theme of remembrance, why are flashbacks an appropriate vehicle for the story?

Part 3) What are the disadvantages to including flashbacks? What are the merits?

(see the answer keys)

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