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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 Rodrigues consider doing with Blackthorne?

2. Why is it dangerous for Toranaga, disguised as Kiri, to reach for the scroll Ishido brings?

3. Who comes to take Blackthorne from the pit?

4. Who does Blackthorne meet in prison?

5. What offer does Rodrigues make to Blackthorne?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where are Blackthorne and his crew held prisoners?

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

3. How is the Portuguese pilot, Rodrigues, introduced into the story?

4. What is the first indication of Yabu's ambition as Hiro-matsu arrives to see the Erasmus?

5. What does Rodrigues tell Blackthorne about the Japanese rowers on board the galley?

6. What does Blackthorne insist on as soon as he gets the galley into a safe harbor?

7. How does Omi persuade Blackthorne to come out of the pit?

8. Why does Yabu personally scale the cliffs to rescue Rodrigues?

9. What is the first indication of the brutality of the samurai in the novel?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, How Traders Made Their Living. Start with the idea that trading went on long before there were systems for monetary exchanges. Use information from SHÅŒGUN about the European/Chinese/Japanese trade practices worked. Include the more familiar trade between China, India, and Europe in the days of Marco Polo. At what point in that system does actual money come to play?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, The Irony of Omi and Yabu. Begin with Omi's wanting to kill his uncle at the very beginning of the novel. Detail how Omi carries out Yabu's orders even though he despises him. Next point should be that it is Omi who brings the samurai to Toranaga whose testimony brings Yabu down. Conclude with the irony of Yabu naming Omi as his heir and selecting him to be his second at his seppuku.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Treachery. With Yabu as your subject, point out the ways in which Yabu attempts to realize his own ambitions for power. Mention his order to kill Yaemon if he is met on the battlefield, his delight at being honored by Toranaga, his attempt to take the riches and guns from the Erasmus, and finally, his treasonous behavior that results in Mariko's death.

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