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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What question comes to mind when Blackthorne almost falls off the galley while Rodrigues is piloting?
(a) if Rodriguez really knows what he is doing.
(b) if Blackthrone could survive overboard.
(c) if a sudden lurch was planned to get rid of Blackthorne.
(d) if the galley will make it to Osaka.

2. How does Blackthorne justify deceiving the friar?
(a) because the friar may be a spy.
(b) by recognizing the lies the friar tells.
(c) because he cannot explain in Spanish.
(d) by simply not telling everything.

3. Why does Toranaga worry about Blackthorne?
(a) he thinks Blackthorne is an assassin.
(b) he is not sure he told the truth.
(c) he fears that many people will try to kill him.
(d) he thinks Blackthorne is a god.

4. How does Toranaga leave the palace in Osaka?
(a) disguised as a gardener.
(b) disguised as a priest.
(c) disguised as a woman.
(d) disguised as a samurai.

5. How is Rodrigues found the morning after the storm?
(a) alive and well at the bottom of a cliff.
(b) barely alive at the bottom of a cliff.
(c) dead and mangled at the bottom of a cliff.
(d) floating face down in the surf at the bottom of a cliff.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Blackthorne want to do?

2. After a few skirmishes, where does Blackthorne end up?

3. What lie does Blackthorne continue to tell?

4. When Blackthorne wakes up and finds everyone swimming, what is Toranaga wanting to do?

5. How does Blackthorne show his contempt for Father Sabastio?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Blackthorne's questions Toranaga tells Mariko not to answer?

2. What does Blackthorne tell Toranaga at their first meeting that puzzled him?

3. Describe the change in Toranaga's orders related to Blackthorne after he is removed from prison.

4. Why does Blackthorne want to get on board the Erasmus?

5. How does John Blackthorne arrive in Japan?

6. After they become more acquainted, what does Rodrigues allow Blackthorne to do?

7. Why is Rodrigues swept overboard on the galley?

8. After escaping the harbor, when Blackthorne awakes from his exhausted sleep, what does he find Toranaga doing?

9. What sets up the conflict between Blackthorne and Omi that lasts for the remainder of the novel?

10. What is the political function of Yodoko in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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