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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. In her lyrics on page 56, to what does Miki compare Nagare?

2. When Gohtaro travels into the past, what does the reader realize about the young man whom Gohtaro and Shuichi thought should be a rugby player?

3. From the context, what is it likely "sakura" means when Shuichi tells Haruka that "the sakura were in full bloom" on the day of her birth (36)?

4. Besides a love of insects, what does the narrator say links Japanese culture to the other culture discussed in the opening of "Mother and Son"?

5. Which is the best description of Kazu's appearance?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Kyoko reveal about her brother's reaction to their mother's death?

2. When Gohtaro first sees Shuichi in the past, why does the gesture of putting his hand around his coffee cup cause Gohtaro to suddenly panic about his own ability to communicate?

3. Why is Kazu especially concerned with whether Kyoko's brother understands the rule about not being able to change the present?

4. What are the rules of the time-traveling café?

5. What has fatherhood been like for Gohtaro?

6. Which element of Gohtaro and Shuichi's relationship in college foreshadows their relationship outside of college?

7. How did Gohtaro end up raising Shuichi's daughter?

8. When Gohtaro tells Shuichi, "Haruka has decided to get married," how does the narrator explain Shuichi's reaction, and what does the reader later learn is the real reason for his reaction?

9. Why does Gohtaro want to travel to the past?

10. What rule of time traveling in the café does Gohtaro almost immediately break when he returns to the past, and who saves him from this error?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the reasons the customers traveling through time seek to comfort others and do what is right by them is to reduce their own pain and discomfort. On the surface, this appears to be a selfish motive. But can an argument be made that their pain and discomfort actually arises because of a deep sense of love and obligation to others? In other words, the desire to reduce their own suffering might be self-focused, but is the suffering itself generated by something selfless? Write an essay in which you consider two of the stories in this collection and the degree to which the suffering of the time-traveling characters in these stories is created by their love for and/or sense of obligation to others. You may conclude that both characters are in similar situations or that the characters' situations are different. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout both stories, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

The café's major rules for time travel are first explained in "Best Friends." Later in Tales from the Café, though, the reader learns a few more rules--among these, that travelers are able to leave objects behind in the past. Given that this rule is not introduced until later, in "Mother and Son," do you think that it is only introduced because it is necessary to Yukio's story? What does this rule imply about the nature of time? Is this implication consistent with other ideas about time in this story? Write an essay in which you consider whether the rule about the giving and receiving of presents while time traveling is consistent with the rest of the stories in the collection or whether it is just a convenience to explain why Yukio is able to give his mother the passbook. Support your argument with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What figurative meaning is there in the text's advice to drink the coffee before it gets cold? How is this figurative meaning supported by the descriptive passages about the origins, taste, preparation, and serving of the coffee? What does it mean that the people drinking it are customers in a timeless and somewhat magical café, not just people drinking coffee that they made in their own homes? What other details and language in the text support the idea that the coffee is symbolic? Write an essay that analyzes the symbolic significance of coffee in Tales from the Café. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

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