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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. The mean nickname the children gave Kurosawa at Morimura Gakuen implied that he had tears large as what?

2. Whose help did Akira Kurosawa eventually employ to convince his father to let him quit calligraphy lessons?

3. What memory brings tears to Kurosawa's eyes as he recalls it in Whirlwind?

4. What weakness does Kurosawa concede in Keika Middle School?

5. Where is young Akira in his earliest memory?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened on September 1, 1923?

2. What bad relationship did Akira develop at Keika Middle School?

3. Years later, what does Kurosawa think about his brother's insistence that they explore the carnage?

4. What is Akira Kurosawa's earliest memory?

5. In Keika Middle School, how does Kurosawa refute the assessment that he was no good at sports?

6. Why was Akira sent to Toyokawa Village by his father?

7. How was Kurosawa nearly killed on the way to school in this section?

8. What ethical dilemma did Kurosawa face at his graduation?

9. In Whirlwind, what sort of decline did Akira's older brother have?

10. Who is Mr. Tachikawa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about Akira Kurosawa as an outsider in his own life. Begin by discussing his earliest memories, how he has transformed them into mini-films. What other situations from his early childhood have become fodder for his films? Discuss how his early life is marked by an analytical appraisal. Why is he able to so easily dissect his though process in deeply emotional moments from this period?

Essay Topic 2

Akira Kurosawa's development over the course of the book is defined not only by the growing experiences that allow him to improve himself. Unfortunate and often tragic events allow him the ability to develop in their own way. Write an essay about three such events:

Part 1) What is Akira's experience during the Great Kanto Earthquake? How old was he at this point, and what cruel realities did he learn from it? Discuss not only the initial damage from the quake itself but also the human violence that followed. Why did Akira's brother force him to observe the carnage?

Part 2) Why does Akira's brother commit suicide? Discuss how this moment - occurring at a crossroads in the author's life - affects the direction of Akira's career? What was his brother's connection to the film industry, and how did this connection precipitate his suicide?

Part 3) Discuss Akira Kurosawa's involvement in the Second World War. Why did he not fight in the Pacific? What were his feelings toward his nation's imperialist actions, and what did he do about them? What was the affect of defeat on Akira? How did his concept of nation change overnight?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the dynamic that existed in Kurosawa's parent's household. What appearance do both his mother try to create, and how does this outward appearance conform to societal expectations? What is the reality behind Kurosawa's father's stoicism? What tenderness and passion exists there, and how does the father pass it onto his son? What does his mother's calm conceal? Is she really as subservient as she appears?

(see the answer keys)

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