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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 Toranaga tell Gyoko about Kiku?

2. What interrupts the party?

3. On her deathbed, what does Yodoko tell Ochiba she must do?

4. What does Blackthorne tell Ishido at the party?

5. What does Toranaga say to Buntaro about Blackthorne's head.

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Toranaga attempt to make peace between Buntaro and Mariko?

2. Why do Blackthorne, his crew, and some samurai move the Erasmus?

3. what is the chief concern among Toranaga's people pending his arrival at his castle?

4. How does Toranaga respond to Ishido's demand that he come to Osaka?

5. Why is Ochiba unsure of the parentage of Yaemon who is thought to be the son of Taikō?

6. Why does Mariko travel to Osaka with scrolls for Kiri and Sazuko?

7. Why does Mariko announce that she will commit seppuku at sundown?

8. What are the circumstances that call off the attack against Mariko after the bomb goes off?

9. What event breaks up the birthday party for Ochiba?

10. What instruction does Yodoko give Ochiba, the mother of Yaemon?

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, Loyalty in SHÅŒGUN. Using Mariko as your example, show how the code of the samurai is complete loyalty to a Lord. When a mission fails or the samurai is prevented from doing his or her work, the honorable way out is seppuku. Conclude with the extent you think loyalty is important in your life today.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, The Concept of Honor and Shame in Shōgun. Discuss your understanding of why the Japanese considered personal honor a matter of such great importance. Talk about the concept of seppuku as an honorable way to avoid public shame and humiliation. Discuss Mariko's suggestion that the old gardener considered it an honor to be beheaded for burying Blackthorne's pheasant.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten, double spaced pages on the topic, Imagine the Worst and Hope for the Best. Using Blackthorne as your example, make your points around Blackthorne's thinking he was going to be executed in prison only to find out that he has been jailed to protect him from Ishido; and his relief at finding the Erasmus in good condition. Translate that into an essay on how often times people expect the worst but find out things have a way of working out.

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This section contains 736 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample