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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. How old was Yukio when he accepted the wholesaler's offer?

2. Which is the best description of how Yukio feels when he returns to the present?

3. What wish does Miki write on the tanzaku paper at the beginning of the story?

4. Near the end of the story, what causes Nagare to drop the tray?

5. What does Miki find on the café floor after Kiyoshi returns from the past?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Yukio's perception of his own circumstances change over the years of his apprenticeship?

2. What complication almost prevents Kiyoshi from traveling back in time, and how does Nagare solve the problem?

3. What are the conditions that Kurata gives Fumiko for either bringing or not bringing Asami to the café?

4. For Yukio, what is especially cruel about the timing of Kinuyo's death?

5. How do Yukio's actions and emotions during the scene where he first sits down in the time-travel chair foreshadow his plan to not return to the present?

6. What kind gesture does Nagare make when he gives Kyoko her order, and how does Kyoko react?

7. What does Kinuyo explain to Yukio about the silver stirrer, and what does he realize this means Kinuyo knows?

8. When Yukio is discouraged about his future, what keeps him working toward becoming a potter?

9. How did Yukio lose all of his money?

10. When Miki writes her wish that Nagare would become happy, how does Nagare react?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Tales from the Café convey about the fleeting nature of human life? Because life lasts a finite and unpredictable amount of time, what does this text advise people do to maximize their happiness? What are some issues from the past that might encroach on a person's present happiness? How does the text advise people to deal with these issues? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position on the theme of 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.

Essay Topic 2

Now that you have read several Kawaguchi stories, you will have noticed a structural pattern. How does he begin each story? What kinds of exposition does he interrupt the narrative flow with, and at what points does he generally interrupt? How--and when--does he use flashback, and what is distinctive about his style of flashback? Write an essay in which you consider how Kawaguchi generally structures his stories and what connection this structure has to the themes he is developing in these narratives. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Now that you have read Kawaguchi's complete collection, what moves do you see him making as an author to convince the reader to accept time-travel within his narrative? Does he take a more magical or scientific approach, or is it a blend of both? How do the café's "rules" for time-travel fit into this? How do details like descriptions of the café itself, the coffee ceremony, and the time-travelers' perceptions during the experience support your interpretation? Write an essay in which you analyze Kawaguchi's approach to time-travel and evaluate its impact on the reader. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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